This aged iconoclast has found a hauntingly apt adage, that appears in scriptures of all the world’s major beliefs, to flat-out decry the disgraceful sham by which the Cheney/Bush duet conspired to deliver the safety and security of this nation and its citizens, into the grip of corporate contractors, without a shred of conscience for consequence. They did this, not only to beat the rap for the bucks ultimately banked by them all but also for the venal viggerish, now available in lavish amounts shoveled into the coffers of shifty politicians, who lack the self-respect to refuse such shoddy blood-soaked sugar.
As for the shameful and conscienceless scam, in which the venal ‘Veep’ and his ‘Poseur’ President palmed-off a chamber-of-horrors script, for execution by a conniving consort of lawless marauders, this soul-sickened scribe can only recall the ages-old rule: ‘Do unto others as you’d have them do unto you.’ Do it with dispatch and public witness, at the earliest opportunity! Then, a more prudent point nags for attention. In WWII this Veteran was one of sixteen million men and women, enlistees and conscripts, in all of the U.S. Armed Services. In that vast number, were there any misfits or bad-apples? Without a doubt! But most of the former were weeded out early-on. Then, after trials by military tribunals, most of the latter were either imprisoned and/or dishonorably discharged. Anyone else who managed to elude detection was in a distinct minority, in that huge military juggernaut.
If generals, admirals and other commanders were then able to hold most of their sixteen-million members accountable to an ethical and just code of conduct and social inter-action, why can’t those now in command of our nation’s numerically lesser police forces do so? They can, but only if those who provide financial and other resources, along with their trainers and leaders, demand and show honest respect for the job, also equal respect for everyone they’re sworn to protect and with whom they interact, regardless of their color or community status.
There was a stirring song that inspired Americans to perform almost super-human accomplishments, in WW II. We need to re-learn and let it inspire us once more, to do great things together. Its words declared a simple truth: “WE DID IT BEFORE AND WE CAN DO IT AGAIN!”
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