USbekistan, in a word.
In his recent post regarding the totally dishonest New York Times (Eating Our Vegetables) Booman wrote about the recalcitrant approach of both the Times and the PermaGov…as if they could be separated…to the idea of punishing the Iraq War miscreants in the Torture Department. Oh. I mean the War Department. No…that’s not right, either. The Defense Department. Oh. And the Intelligence Department and the White House Department as well, I guess. Awww…you know!!! Them guys!!! Of course…not the ones who are in power now. OH no!!! Them other guys.
Riiiiight…
Anyway…he wrote:
The better path is to stop resisting [prosecution] and let the law do its work.
Otherwise, we might as well be Uzbekistan.
My reply follows.
Read on.
Booman…WTFU.
We are Uzbekistan. Only bigger. Much bigger. And much more dangerous as well.
The author Gary Shteyngart uses the term “Absurdistan” to include all of humanity, and he is right on the money. Uzbekistan, Afghanistan, Pakistan, North Koreastan, Isistan, Brazilistan, Chinastan, Russiastan, Ameracistan, all of the various X-istans in eXistance…all the same game. A relatively few ridiculously vain, vicious, self-deceiving people governing masses of human beings too dumb and/or too lazy to realize that they are being had on every level. This is nothing new. An “intelligent” country is simply one that has backed off of that kind of stupidity a notch or two. Denmark and the other Scandinavian states are good contemporary examples of this as far as I can see, and I have been all over the world during the last 50 years. Canada and Japan as well. Just a little bit smarter than everyplace else. Just enough to make a noticeable societal difference.
On the other side of things, the U.S. has dialed up institutionally supported stupidity several notches over the past 50 years or so. The American generations that immediately preceded and followed WW II are commonly called “The Greatest Generation.” In point of fact, they were the most intelligent American generations. A cursory but objective examination of the lasting cultural artifacts that were produced during say the time of FDR’s rise and the killing of JFK should be enough to prove that fact to all except the terminally media-tranced out. The fact that by 1963 American culture had degenerated to the point that the mass of Americans uncomplainingly swallowed the JFK lone killer assassination myth closely followed by the same game regarding MLK Jr. and RFK is proof enough of this degeneration. It’s only gotten worse since then. The educational system is broken; the media system is a total shambles of lies and propaganda and the culture and government lie in dysfunctional shards at our feet.
So it goes.
Down like a motherfucker.
What could raise it once again from the ranks of the walking dead? The walking stupid?
Damned if I know.
Some massive emergency, possibly.
Or…maybe not.
But I’ll tell you what will not do it.
Shilling for yet another functionary of the Permanent Government to rise to a position of power will get us nowhere. Are you familiar with the Greek myth of the Hydra? You should be. The great myths…the long-lasting ones…are simply the truths of our greatest and wisest, simplified in order to reach the masses.
Here’s a good synopsis:
In Greek mythology, the Lernaean Hydra (Greek: Λερναία Ὓδρα) was an ancient serpent-like water monster with reptilian traits. It possessed many heads – the poets mention more heads than the vase-painters could paint – and for each head cut off it grew two more. It had poisonous breath and blood so virulent that even its tracks were deadly.
Sound familiar?
It should. It is a perfect picture of what has happened in the Middle East since the great game of Blood-For-Oil War in the region began in the early 1900s.
Confronting ISIS with inadequate weaponry will only multiply once again the heads that we have already multiplied many times over by our actions in Iraq and the other Muslim countries of this world. The only truly adequate direct force weaponry that would get the job done is nuclear, and given the undeniable nuclear parity of so many nations that is a totally unacceptable solution.
So…what to do, what to do?
We might well take a lesson from the apparently successful tack that Vladimir Putin has been taking in the whole Ukraine squabble. Arm the opposition; make sure that they are not going to turn against us by keeping covert control of the situation (See the fate of the recently displaced Novorussian leader Igor Strelkov for more on this subject in the Mixed news about Strelkov part of this link.), and hope that the terror the ISIS people have unleashed on their own people turns the tide of battle.
That appears to be what the U.S. is trying to do, although the miasma of media lies tends to obstruct all real views of the subject. Let us pray.
Or of course we can wait around for Heracles to come save us.
Saaaay…Wait a minute!!!
That hair…the general size…
Does this remind you of someone?
Hmmmm….
Oh!!!
I’ve got it!!!
Awwww…c’mon.
Dont get mad.
I’m jes’ funnin’ with ya.
Right?
Riiiiiiight…
Later…
AG