War
makes empire out of U.S.
Today is a historic day. Congress is in
a lopsided debate regarding whether to grant
President Bush the sole right and power
to wage a war, in the name of all of us,
all of the citizens of this country, on
the people, not the government of Iraq,
one of the richest oil-nations in the world.
The fact that Iraq is one of the top oil-producers
in the world should not be lost on any of
us. We should be reminded daily by the cars
we drive, the petroleum-based pesticides
that are sprayed on the increasingly inedible
food that we eat, and the diminishing quality
of the air we breath and the water we drink.
Whether you are in favor of a foreign war,
it is important to take note of a few notable
changes that will occur if the resolution
to bypass the founding Constitution of this
nation is accepted. And barring a filibuster
or other unlikely event, I think it will
be.
We will no longer be able to claim ourselves
as a democracy. We will be an empire, without
a doubt.
The Senate and congress are reporting letters
and envoys measuring 500 and 1,000 to 1
opposed to a preemptive strike against the
people of Iraq, ruled by a dictator. But
these pleas from the people of this country
will be ignored by those who feel that war
is the appropriate fix for a faltering economy
by the illegitimate, irresponsible fundamentalist
regime in Washington. We will be an empire
on a mission to secure our life-blood. Oil.
Saddam Hussein is a dictator and a despot.
He is one of dozens of world leaders who
has abused his power in the world during
nearly 50 years since World War II, after
which America took position as the world’s
most powerful economy and military. Hussein
will be among the very few whom America
has bothered to intervene with. His country
produces a deadly black liquid which is
capable of destroying our world. It is his
source of money and power. It is holding
the world hostage. It is called oil. We
can and should curtail its use and use technology
and intelligence to change the balance of
power in the world. But we won’t, at least
until it’s clear that there’s none left.
It’s a great failing of humanity, this lack
of insight.
We live as witnesses to a great tragedy,
the single greatest betrayal of the rather
noble intentions of the rebels and protesters
who freed this country from empirical rule
by England and sought to conduct an experiment
in democracy. We’ve forgotten that an experiment
needs to be maintained and observed, and
we’ve fallen asleep while the virus of greed
and shortsightedness ruined the best intentions
of a great many people who’ve invested labor,
trust and hope in the ideals of liberty,
equality and justice.
I wish you all safety, and advise you to
keep your heads up and your eyes looking
for the people who have the courage to tell
the truth in this increasingly dangerous
and muddy world.
Liam Scheff is a junior at Cal State
Long Beach.
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