To the rescue...
Iraq is latest national foe to distract from true source of U.S. woes
news-editorial major and a
Daily Nebraskan colum
nist.
The sinister apparition of tyranny
and brutality appears to be rearing its
ugly head again in the world, and only
one force on the planet has the guts to
stop it.
Will our hero arrive in time to
squash this abomination and bring
peace, love and understanding back to
Earth, clearing a path for the uninter
rupted pursuit of democracy and the
profit margin?
Can the evil plots of Saddam
Hussein for world domination and
destruction be halted before it’s too
late?
Fear not, lovers of baseball and
west comes the answer to the planet’s
woes, the force which will triumph
over all things bad and un-American.
After all, are we not the protectors of
democracy and open markets
throughout the world?
From Panama to Vietnam, from
Grenada to Somalia, U.S. forces have
ridden in at the last moment like the
cavalry thundering into a Western’s
last scene, restoring order to the
galaxy - excuse me - to the PLANET.
Perhaps I was asleep when the
decision to appoint our country as
Caretaker of Earth was made. It cer
tainly wasn’t covered in History 102,
and nothing about it has been men
tioned in the current events quizzes in
my journalism classes.
All the same, the implications do
have a certain Machiavellian charm.
George Orwell certainly thought
the concept made for good reading in
his book about a totalitarian society in
“1984.” With Big Brother constantly
“informing” the public about this cru
cial war or that necessary battle, the
attention of the populace was too
fixed on efforts to repel the menacing
invaders to concentrate on the true
lems.
And the fact that enemies and
allies reversed positions almost with
the change of seasons made no differ
ence to a society already utterly con
fused and somewhat apathetic to the
whole affair.
Now, comparisons to Orwell’s
dark vision of where society may be
heading to our present situation with
Iraq should not be taken too seriously,
but the premises made in the book do
have some basis in reality.
For example, the idea to keep the
masses distracted from the nitty gritty
of bettering society from within is not
a new one. The Pax Romana - the era
of “peace” enjoyed in the ancient
Roman empire - was perpetuated by
keeping conquered kingdoms in a
state of constant war with each other
instead of with Rome. The plan
worked well for the empire and kept
the conquered peoples busily distract
ed from the true source of their ills.
And this kind of distraction is still
played out today. Keeping the popu
lace focused on a national nemesis is
an excellent way of building patrio
tism, maintaining the country’s status
quo and raising political support and
approval ratings. We can all lean back
on our couches, beer in hand, to catch
the latest
y y development
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television,
much
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three-part movie of the week or the
big game.
„ It was, after all, the very threat of
impending invasion from little “red”
men which justified giving the United
State’s president a blank check to fund
our defense program, even though the
administration was well aware that die
Soviet threat to our domestic tranquil
lity was highly overrated.
But we no longer have the threat
of the spread of communism seeping
from the four comers of the globe or
cryptic quotes from Nikita
Khrushchev about crushing us. There
are no more bomb shelters being built,
no more “run, duck and cover” drills
in our public schools. Since the fall of
communism and the breakup of the
former Soviet Union, U.S. politicians
have been faced with a real dilemma.
If light cannot exist without dark,
goodness without evil, what opposing
force can be used politically to galva
tyrant and a brutal dictator busy man
ufacturing weapons of mass destruc
tion.
And our political leaders are
chomping on the bit to have another
whack at him while most of the
remaining U.N. forces watch from the
shadows. There are already 24,000
U.S. troops in the region waiting for
the word - along with 325 warplanes
and two aircraft carrier battle groups -
and political patience is wearing thin.
In a Feb. 1 Lincoln Journal Star
article, Sen. Jesse Helms (R-N.C.)
was quoted as saying there was “no
point in talking to Iraq anymore,” and
he “would not advise (Clinton) not to
bomb Iraq.”
Perhaps we shouldn’t kick
Hussein’s butt too quickly. Why not
keep him around awhile as our prover
bial nemesis, especially since he fits
the bill so well? Even Defense
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political servants?
Oh, there was Iran to focus on for
a while. But after tying yellow ribbons
around trees for the hostages caught
in the middle and dancing to such
tunes as “Bomb Iran,” played to the
melody of the Beach Boys’ “Barbara
Ann,” the crisis ended rather amiably.
Now Iraq has come to fill that
niche of nemesis for the United States
nicely. Clearly, we kicked butt in the
early ’90s, but Hussein just won’t go
away. He is the quintessential villain
and doesn’t seem to realize (or care)
that he’s outmatched militarily.
Besides, he’s so damn easy to
despise. Allegations of his use of
chemical and biological weapons on
his own people don’t exactly serve to
endear him to the hearts of red-blood
ed, apple-pie-loving Americans, He ’s
been described as a megalomaniac, a
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that Journal Star article that military
action in Iraq would probably not be a
“one-time” affair. Andsomeof our
politicians have worked mighty hard
to convince U.S. citizens of the threat
Iraq supposedly poses to our domestic
tranquillity.
After riding that six-month victo
ry crest of Desert Storm in the early
’90s, our politicians can look forward
to even more victory speeches,
parades - complete with Gen. William
Westmoreland and Mickey Mouse
as well as an overwhelming approval
rating by the voters.
It’ll be a veritable winter wonder
land for political and governmental
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