We Should Have Listened to Caesar… 

 Julius Caesar was a great military leader. He was also cruel, ambitious and unethical in his political dealings. But he was also an astute and wise politician. One of his warnings to his generation was “Beware of rulers who beat the drums of war to incite the citizenry to patriotism.” This should also be a warning for our generation.

 Over the last few years, and in particular the last few months, we have seen Mr. Bush and his administration exposed for what they are. I hate to say this but Mr. Bush is intentionally pushing his agenda to actually create Armageddon. Bush is the representative of the extreme Christian right. Those millions of Pentecostals and evangelicals have found their champion. While it may seem far-fetched, these people want nothing more than the end of the world so that they may go to heaven. And Bush is doing all he can to satisfy their desires.

 This is clear when you see how he is treating Iran and North Korea. Just a week or so ago Bush and his administration condemned the electoral process in Iran. He called it an unacceptable and undemocratic exercise. The front-runner at the time was Ayatollah Rafsanjani, an Iranian cleric who made tremendous strides in creating a more liberal and free environment in Iran. His remarks so outraged the Iranians that they voted for someone who they normally would have shied away from—the mayor of Tehran. Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is an extreme conservative who welcomes the old Iranian style of government exercised during the Iranian Revolution. Bush has threatened and condemned Iran’s supposed aspirations to nuclear power and weaponry. By forcing the Iranian people to vote for someone they would normally never think to vote for, to show Bush that they cannot be bullied, they have put into power a man who is determined to obtain that power. 

 But let us look at this issue. Bush went to war under the misguided, or rather manufactured “intelligence” that Iraq had nuclear weapons—illusive, non-existent weapons of mass destruction. He has threatened both North Korea and Iran because they may be on the path to nuclear weapons as well. However, he has not threatened Israel or Pakistan or India or China even though those nations have such weaponry. And, of course, even though one single nuclear weapon is evil and should be outlawed the United States has thousands of them. What gives here?

 Is it ok for the US to manufacture biological and nuclear weapons but to threaten a country that actually may have only intended to have nuclear energy as a way to provide power to homes, factories and farms? Is one bomb enough to go to war over while others may have tens or hundreds or thousands and be given the thumbs up?  

 Bush, in his recent speech given to garner support for his war effort, reminded the audience to remember September 11. He stated that we are fighting in Iraq to fight the terrorist responsible for 9/11. The American people know that Iraq had nothing to do with 9/11. Bush continues to beat the drums of war. Does Iraq have terrorist? Yes it certainly does—but only because Bush created a favorable environment for them. He destroyed the regime of Saddam but he also destroyed the stability of the region and created an “us vs. them” mentality among the terrorist who believe that America is out to destroy their religion. Bush created the situation as it is today that breeds terrorism, contempt and hatred.  

Bush and his administration have to address the terrible credibility gap that exists in the government. Before the war Secretary Rumsfeld said that the war might last six days or six weeks but he couldn’t imagine it would last six months. Recently his estimate was that it would take up to twelve years to resolve the conflict. Twelve years of young men and women dying and being maimed for what? Bush said that the sacrifices are worth it. These deaths are worth the destruction of a country and a culture that has existed for thousands of years? Worth the deaths of hundreds of thousands of innocent Iraqis that were living their lives in peace before the war? Worth the destruction and theft of priceless artifacts that tell the story of an ancient civilization?

 Certainly, the Saddam regime was evil. However, their continued existence was up to the people of Iraq. There was an underground in place that wanted to remove that evil government and replace it with another. The US should have helped them do that, not go to war against the wishes of the American people and the majority of the world. He lied about the reasons to attack Iraq. He has created an environment in the US that recalls totalitarian governments of the worst kind. He continues to erode our freedoms and the protections of the Constitution and, more importantly, he continues to erode the safety of the world.

 While Bush has spent over $200 Billion so far in his war in Iraq, the driving force behind September 11^th runs free in a country almost forgotten. The United States went to war to rid Afghanistan of its Taliban dictators (even though we supported the same dictators earlier in their war against the Russians). The US is failing in Afghanistan, failing to capture Bin Laden, to wipe out the terrible Taliban presence. Today the Afghani people are afraid. The Taliban are regaining their strength and the US is often accused of mistreating the Afghani people to the extent that President Karzai is publicly criticizing American troop behavior.  A recent news account quoted an Afghani law student he said “The Americans are the cause of the insecurity. If they were not here, there would not be any insecurity. The money they are spending on military expenses—if they spent half of it on the Afghan army and police and raised their skills, then there would not be any security questions.” Other Afghani people say that tensions are becoming worse as is the mood of the Afghani people as they see the American presence as one of occupation and one not of good will. Because of the current American presence and attitude towards Afghanistan many diplomats believe that the Karzai government will be dominated with heavy Islamic elements that may bring back the Taliban. Again Bush has created a habitat for terrorism. As a recent editorial in the Sacramento Bee said, [Bush] has painted this country into a corner from which no one is sure how, or whether, we can emerge successfully and honorably.”    

 I, for one, do not want any more Americans or Iraqis or Afghanis to die. Too many have already. Twelve more years of war will reduce Iraq to dust and barbarism and Afghanistan to a country of feudal war lords that it was under the Taliban. It is now reducing America to a despotic government out of touch with reality. Almost two thousand Americans, male and female, have died and over fourteen thousand wounded—many who will never be whole again. It is heartening that some members of Bush’s own party are rebelling and calling for an end to this madness. But all of us must do so. It is time to impeach a president for crimes that count. The Republicans attempted to remove President Clinton for bogus causes. Let us do so for a just cause. Let us take back America and restore the values that made it special and unique. Let us restore freedom, ethics, hope and decency in our own government. Let us remove the malignancy in the White House!

The need for universal respect and enjoyment of our differences is paramount. To do otherwise only cheats us all of our common heritages.

Accomplishments: Included in the 2003 edition of Who's Who in America, Gary will also be listed in the important reference work, 2004 Who's Who in the World.
 

SACRED WELLS is now available from PublishAmerica book publishers at a special price of $16.95--$3 off the regular retail price. Gary's new book, a companion to SACRED WELLS, WATER OF LIFE--WATER OF DEATH: THE FOLKLORE AND MYTHOLOGY OF SACRED WATERS will be published next year by PublishAmerica. The academic publisher, Algora Publishing in New York will be publishing Gary's other new title in 2004-05 on the folklore of sacred stones. Called MENHIRS, DOLMEN AND CIRCLES OF STONE, this book will appear in the Fall listing of Algora Publishing.
 

Gary is a member of the American Folklore Society, the Joseph Campbell Foundation and the Oregon Writer's Colony.
 

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