The United States of Amnesia

Started by TehBorken, Oct 03 06 04:19

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TehBorken

[font face="Arial"]SEATTLE  POST-INTELLIGENCER
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vny!://seattlepi.nwsource.com/jamieson/287327_robert03.html

[font face="Arial,Helvetica" size="4"]It's time to revisit the power of war  protest[/font]  [font face="Arial,Helvetica" size="2"]Tuesday, October 3, 2006[/font][/p] [font face="Arial,Helvetica" size="2"]By ROBERT L. JAMIESON JR.
P-I  COLUMNIST[/font][/p] Writer Gore Vidal is spot on when he says we live in the United States of  Amnesia.[/p] People are not attuned to the lessons of history. Citizenry isn't as informed  as it needs to be.[/p] And news such as last week's startling turn -- a bill that could empower the  president to possibly declare even American citizens "unlawful combatants" who  may be detained beyond the reach of court review -- draws a snooze.[/p] Meanwhile, the country is titillated over the latest distraction du jour: the  GOP Florida congressman who sent sexy e-mails to boys.[/p] This is how the president wants it. He'd prefer America keep its eyes on that  sex scandal rather than on him and his war on terror.[/p] So long as we are distracted, we tend not to notice important things such as  how former Secretary of State Colin Powell recently said the White House wanted  to "keep him in his place" as he expressed Iraq misgivings. For stirring things  up, President Bush put Powell out.[/p] Distraction makes the public lose track of the erosion of rights that form  the bedrock of democracy here. People grow numb to U.S. soldiers losing their  lives abroad for a cause that seems adrift.[/p] Some Americans say they are trying real hard to speak out, even if doing so  feels like yelling into a Category 5 hurricane. [/p] I bumped into a group of such concerned citizens huddled around a table at a  Belltown pastry shop Saturday.[/p] I wanted coffee. They wanted to kvetch. [/p] "We have to do something," said Cynthia, a Seattle activist who put a green  sheet of paper in my hand.[/p] The flier mentioned something I hadn't heard about -- a day of protest this  week against the White House. [/p] Thursday's "Drive Out The Bush Regime" event is being held in more than 150  cities across the country. In Seattle, the day calls for school walkouts and  includes a morning rally at the University of Washington, a noon gathering at  Cal Anderson Park and an afternoon march to the downtown Federal Building. (More  information is available at the Web site [a href="vny!://worldcantwait.org/"]worldcantwait.org[/a])[/p] The event has its heart in the right place, but one has to wonder if Seattle  -- or the nation -- cares. An Iraq war with no end in sight has beat people into  silence and paralysis. The way the federal government bungled its response to  Katrina did make Americans angry, but they quickly returned to regular  programming -- new episodes of "Grey's Anatomy" and "Lost."[/p] It would be inspiring to see crowds turn out Thursday the way people did this  year to support undocumented Latino workers.[/p] But this being a land of amnesia and apathy, it seems as if people have  forgotten the lost art of the war protest, which begs a question. [/p] What good is freedom of speech or freedom of assembly when people seem  unwilling to use it at this crucial juncture in history?[/p] "People have felt demoralized," says Maggie Lawless, a regional organizer of  this week's event. "They feel there is no way they can go up against all of the  bad things that are happening." [/p] People have good reason to put on their protest shoes.[/p] Consider the recent detainee-treatment bill. The terms of the debate on the  bill have shifted from it's not right to torture people to which form of torture  is acceptable. [/p] "Waterboarding" -- a technique used to simulate drowning -- isn't cool. [/p] Pheew -- that's a relief.[/p] "We have a situation in this country where torture is legal. Habeas corpus is  getting ripped away," Lawless says. "We've become a nation of torturers."[/p] That's on top of being a nation of fast forgetters.[/p] During the 1970s, a group of policy people -- Dick Cheney, Don Rumsfeld and  Henry Kissinger -- bridled at restraints being put on presidential decision  making. [/p] Today, these grumpy men are older, more devious and not wiser. They're  singing the same tune.[/p] The United States of Amnesia needs to remember. Then, it has to rediscover  its protest voice.[/p] When it finds both, it can advise the Bush administration on just where it  can go.[/p]  [hr align="left" noshade="noshade" size="1" width="50%"]  P-I columnist Robert L. Jamieson Jr. can be reached at 206-448-8125 or  [email protected].[/p] © 1998-2006 Seattle Post-Intelligence  
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