The holidays are over-- all of them-- for another year. 2003 is here and with it comes a whole new year of potential. What that year will bring is anyone's guess, but more and more it seems as if it's going to bring the exact opposite of what most of us pray for at this time of year: peace on earth and goodwill towards men.

How did we get here? How did we get to this point in history? The US has a president that most of the people in the country didn't even vote for. Despite the intelligence of his own CIA, which says that Saddam is more likely to use weapons of mass destruction if backed into a corner, this man who has the fate fate of hundreds of millions in his hands, is backing Saddam into a corner. The hypocrisy of the US government is at levels never before encountered. The average US citizen is not even aware of how many civil rights have been taken away since 9/11. And most of them don't even question what really happened that day. They simply swallow what the government, through the major media, feeds them. The rest of the world, already thinking that Americans are a bit egocentric and selfish, now have ample proof that they're not only the above but that most of them are willing to act like total morons with their knee-jerk patriotism. How did this happen?

Well, it certainly didn't happen overnight, although like a snowball rolling down a hill, it's picking up speed and destructive potential. In less than two years, the Bush presidency has destroyed what it has taken decades to acquire in terms of civil rights, political "goodwill", economic success, tolerance and compassion. The balance of power that our forefathers designed into the US Constitution is now gone: the executive office is in complete control and such control is very dangerous. As the old adage goes, "Absolute power corrupts absolutely" and we can see evidence of this in the news from Washington every day.

In my humble opinion, the problem started with the death of the last founding father. Only those who actually wrote and signed the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence could actually say what their intent was. Once that last founding father had passed on, the US Constitution was open to interpretations. And just like the various interpretations of the Bible have led to the formation of more than 30,000 Christian sects/churches in the US alone, so too have there been countless "sects" with respect to what the Constitution really means. Had Jefferson been alive in the 1850's when "In God We Trust" was added to our currency and again in 1950's when the US Congress was debating the addition of the words "under God" to the pledge of allegiance, there'd be no controversy today because such words would have never been added. (Check out Jefferson's autobiography and read the story about the failed attempt by some to put the words "Jesus Christ" in the preamble of the Virginia Constitution.) The passing of the last founding father was like a glass being dropped and cracking but not really breaking. Each new "cause" that sought special privileges for some or denied equality to others was putting another crack in that glass. With the way things are today, it shouldn't really surprise anyone when that glass shatters into a million pieces and the government seizes control for "security reasons".

The Civil War didn't help strengthen the US either. The victory by the north and the failure to adequately provide for those who were in the south after the war created a huge schism in this country. One that has no yet fully healed as can be witnessed by the controversy about flying the confederate flag on some state capitol buildings. There was so much fighting during the 1800's: the war of 1812, where we essentially stole a large chunk of Mexico to create the state of Texas. All the "Indian wars" where white American's attacked Native Americans and told them what their future would hold-- not much. The "wild west" had vigilante law-- might was right. Or at least it was the law. Much of the history of the 1800's is infused with violence and wars, and that trend continued into the 1900's. Before the second decade of the new century was over, we were involved in World War I.

With all the wars fought on our own land and with both world wars, America got used to several things:

1. Throwing her weight around and having other people/countries do what they were told
2. An economy that was driven by "defense" or the military
3. Glorified violence that was called patriotism

After WWII, America held the upper hand because we were the only nuclear power. (Russia was no far behind though.) As a result, we got to call the shots-- after all, "we" had ended the war. It was only after "we" had entered the war that things started to go against Germany and Italy and Japan. (Of course, that's a very cultural-centric view and I don't hold it to be true. The entry of the US into WWII only hastened the inevitable: you simply can't have one government controlling the entire world when the world is not a willing participant.) After WWII, when the economy started to slow down, we entered the Korean war. Then when that was over, we started Viet Nam. And that was where we hit a turning point, because the people of America, for the first time, asked, "Why are we fighting this war and are we in the right?" And the answer was an unequivocable "NO!"

Ponder, if you will, our military actions after the Viet Nam war: Grenada, the Philippines, Somalia, Dessert Storm. All "wars" in which the government said we had to go to protect the rights of others. But from whom? In virtually every one of those countries, the regime in power was put there by the US government! Even Al Qaida was funded and supported by the US government (covertly, of course) because they were fighting against the Russian invasion and our archaic military machine still views Russia as "the enemy". That's a nice little racket, don't you think? Overthrow a government that doesn't do what you want, set up someone else in that place and then in another twenty years, throw them out when they start balking at being told what to do. The US is creating its own enemies and literally putting them in power and giving them the weapons that we then come back later and say they have no right to have! Why? The same reason as any war: the economy thrives in during a war. And the US economy has taken a nose dive under every Republican president since at least Richard Nixon.

No, I don't have any proof for this: just speculation. And I am fully aware that this is really oversimplified. But when you think about it, it all falls into place. I wouldn't even put it past the US government to have had a hand in the 9/11 attacks. But that's something for another article....

As bad as all this may sound, I will focus on the bright side: the silver lining. History has shown time and again that a people who do not have to fight for their freedoms do not appreciate their freedoms and take them for granted, allowing a power-crazed despot to take power. (Bush is, in my humble opinion, simply a pawn of the radical religious right, who are the ones seeking the power.) Maybe this is what we need to wake up the people of this country and to get them to appreciate the rights and freedoms that they have and to teach them once again that any right or freedom that YOU have is a right or freedom you must give to everyone else, otherwise you have no basis for claiming it as your own.

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