Truth From the Humorists
...The only way we seem to get it these days. The following is an absolutely unbelievable article published in the Onion in the year 2003. I know I am violating any sense of fair usage by quoting the whole thing, but it is so important for us to realize that the truth about invading the Middle East was clear to anyone to see, if they only cared to face reality. I hope they will forgive me. Please read on:
"This War Will Destabilize The Entire Mideast Region And Set Off A Global Shockwave Of Anti-Americanism
George W. Bush may think that a war against Iraq is the solution to our problems, but the reality is, it will only serve to create far more.
This war will not put an end to anti-Americanism; it will fan the flames of hatred even higher. It will not end the threat of weapons of mass destruction; it will make possible their further proliferation. And it will not lay the groundwork for the flourishing of democracy throughout the Mideast; it will harden the resolve of Arab states to drive out all Western (i.e. U.S.) influence.
If you thought Osama bin Laden was bad, just wait until the countless children who become orphaned by U.S. bombs in the coming weeks are all grown up. Do you think they will forget what country dropped the bombs that killed their parents? In 10 or 15 years, we will look back fondly on the days when there were only a few thousand Middle Easterners dedicated to destroying the U.S. and willing to die for the fundamentalist cause. From this war, a million bin Ladens will bloom.
And what exactly is our endgame here? Do we really believe that we can install Gen. Tommy Franks as the ruler of Iraq? Is our arrogance and hubris so great that we actually believe that a U.S. provisional military regime will be welcomed with open arms by the Iraqi people? Democracy cannot possibly thrive under coercion. To take over a country and impose one's own system of government without regard for the people of that country is the very antithesis of democracy. And it is doomed to fail.
A war against Iraq is not only morally wrong, it will be an unmitigated disaster."
But of course, only the dirty hippies said anything like that at the time, and everyone needed to just ignore their drug-addled ravings. Much better to listen to Dick Cheney and Bill Kristol and Paul Wolfowitz- people with real experience in foreign policy who were basing their decisions on firm intelligence.
Well, I guess, as with Jon Stewart, you are allowed to occasionally tell the truth, as long as you make it perfectly clear that you were just telling a joke.
Comments
Fair use doesn't preclude this - it just tries to protect the author's right to get fair credit for the work, and not have it used for the profit of others.
I use whole essays all the time if I think they are important enough to be promulgated for the better education of the public, and will not be with just a link after a small part is quoted. What's important is the credit and the link.
My thinking (which comes from lots of feedback from my readers) is that many would be interested in the essay, but wouldn't click on the link without knowing how much information is there.
I also wanted to thank you for making this argument anew. I was teaching at a small university at the time of 9/11 and became immediately controversial when I drew upon my reading and degrees in Political Science and International Studies to draw out all the negatives that would be forthcoming from the planned attacks on Afghanistan (and later Iraq) as a response to a terror tactic. (Later I changed my mind as to whose terror tactic but at that time I was only arguing that it was the wrong response and was actually a great opportunity to address what should have been viewed as "blowback.")
You can guess the history of the rest of my tenure there.