The Failure to Punish Bush For Lies About Iraq Has Damned Us

Colin Powell sold the bill of goods to the United Nations regarding weapons of mass destruction and we, Americans,  subsequently have not held George W. Bush and his administration to account. We basically have set precedents in this country that would rival Nazi Germany. At least the Germans had a resistance, his generals tried to remove Hitler from power.

Part of the problem is we feel we can’t prosecute or correct the Commander in Chief unless they are Democrats like President Bill Clinton, a man demonized by the Republicans during his impeachment. Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich was one of the biggest proponents of this action, even though he’s been married three times. Newt left his first wife while she was dying of cancer in the hospital and was actually having an affair on wife number two during the impeachment of Bill Clinton. Speaker Bob Livingston of Louisiana who replaced Gingrich was having an affair on his wife also, stepping down due to those accusations. The job ultimately went to Dennis Hastert of Illinois who was soon accused of molesting at least four teenage boys.

I think one of the reasons that we haven’t successfully prosecuted Republican Presidents stems from President Gerald Ford’s pardoning of President Nixon. That pardon has led to a culture of impunity. Now America can’t even agree that the Iraq War was wrong and unjust. And we have the Patriot Act.

We have been acting like sheep and have been going on like normal while participating in mass murder through crimes of omission. We knew the war was wrong but did nothing about it – the same old line of “I was just following orders” that the Nazis used at the Nuremberg Trials.

While our family and friends have been soldiers and we rightly support them, because many of America’s youth may have unknowingly joined the military for love of country, it is America’s conscience that should be wrestling with good and evil. But you and I give ourselves only half truths while the government launches unjust wars.

We have not been good stewards of this democracy and I think our complacency is setting the stage for a dictatorship, if not now, sometime. I believe the business community supports that type of government, anything that is socialist , unionist, or for the good of the people is typically labeled anti-American or communist by Wall Street.

Is this ok with you? It’s not with me. I think to move forward and be better citizens of the world we need to move backwards by admitting guilt and confessing to our crimes. We don’t play well with other people or even work together for the common good. Think the Paris Accord, the G7 or the United Nations. We do our own thing to the destruction of our consciences, our relationships and our planet.