Well my last post was back in November around the time of the mid-term elections and here we are. My latest insight into America? It's this: As a whole we seem to be a culture almost completely incapable of any type of meaningful introspection.
Oh don't misunderstand me, we do engage in prolonged breast beating, wailing and finger pointing after it becomes undeniable that we have screwed up (Watergate, Vietnam). But do we actually learn anything from our misssteps? Not really. Or I should qualify that by saying that the people who run things don't seem to learn anything?
It's really not all that difficult (if you're paying attention) to get a disturbing sense of deja vu from the current political and foreign policy (Iraq) climate. Didn't we already go to a foreign country filled with people that look and believe differently than us, attempt to democratize them, and basicallty succeed in getting a bunch of them and us killed? I seem to recall something similar happening a few years back.
Now that I think of it though, perhaps I'm being naive and in fact the real lessons of politics and war are learned. Those of us who are not part of the power elite but are still somewhat rational see the futility of these exercises in aggression. And those in power understand that war is one of the best ways to redistribute wealth to them and to manipulate the populace through fear.
The one thing I'm not sure about is whether this operates on a totlally conscious and cynical level with those in charge, or whether they are in fact somewhat unaware of their actual motivation. The net effect is the same.
So we merrily SURGE on in Iraq (I think good ole' Doc Freud might have something to say about that word usage). People die, other people get rich and the sense of unreality and disconnection grows here in America.
But like any other binge drinker, reality has a way of slamming into you when you're not expecting it. I hope we're wearing our seat belts when it happens.
