You KNOW Why We are in Iraq

The other day I found myself in a political debate with a friend of mine.

It was an ordinary debate, with "facts". Basically, we threw "what we've heard" back and forth at each other to the entertainment of the people in the room. I "cited" some evidence and he did the same in return. Two college kids with ideology in hand, trying to work each other over in a mental arm-wrestling match the equivalent of the Arm-Wrestling National Qualifiers in BFE, Utah. Because let's face it, without a computer in front of us, we really just tend to go with what we think we read in passing on a political editorial website.

The debate was about the political spin of CNN. He argued that they were a liberal news syndicate while I argued that, though that is sometimes true, they tend to give a conservative perspective on issues like Michael Moore's SiCKO, and Global Warming, bringing on Dr. Gupta to give a loaded editorial on the topic. I mused "so if you haven't seen 'An Inconvenient Truth', then how can you know whether Gupta is right or not?" He said, "I don't have to know about Global Warming. It's CNN; Dr. Gupta's doing the research for me."

My friend is a rising leader in the state of Iowa with a penchant for conservative thought and as I listened to him reply with utter certainty on the media, public opinions from self-purported experts, and gobble up the social "givens" about news organizations and policy, I wondered, how many other people suffer from this disease of "utter certainty"?

Iraq still isn't stable. This is not the only report that proves so. And everybody knows it. And even as the GOP begins to jump ship on the war in Iraq, the president and conservative legislators continue to talk about escalation, long-term occupation, and our "success" in liberating the Iraqi people.

We're facing an organization of people who's complete and all-encompassing religious convictions drive them to destroy anything and everyone who believes differently. Their utter religious certainty tells them that they will be martyred if they kill themselves trying to stop us. But we know in our religions that this just isn't so. We're utterly certain of it.

Even now that public opinion is souring and projections for the war are bleak as ever, the president and administration show no remorse for their actions because they are utterly certain that we will...well...do a number of things I guess. A small constituency of people (the percentage keeping the president's approval ratings afloat) has followed the White House through every phase of the invasion despite the ever changing mission statement of Iraq. They've never questioned the logic of the war or the idea that our invasion and decimation of an entire country is going to provide them some kind of rise-from-the-ashes rebirth into freedom.

The best way to fight a war is to demonize your enemy. But in the case of the Iraq war, are we really all that different from the people we fight? We both possess strong religious convictions, we are both fighting for what we believe is right, and we both believe in altruistic ideals of freedom, we just see the issue from two different perspectives.

Ultimately, the issue is that we are "utterly certain" that the decision to invade Iraq was right. We are "utterly certain" that what the news tells us is true. We are "utterly certain" that the president of the United States would never lie or deceive about something as big as a war. We are "utterly certain" that what isn't in our backyard can't directly affect us.

But it has. The mentalities that the United States developed by making the decision to invade a foreign country for its own good have now infected everyone. We are a people that are more self-important than ever. We are even less concerned with the international consequences of our actions. We are even more bombastic in our political convictions and even less partisan in our discussions. We are now more than ever convinced that there is a "right" way to handle policy, religion, and problems.

From Iraq to the media and beyond, our personal convictions are stronger than ever. We as a country stay in a course of action until the only obvious answer is staring us in the face, regardless of all tangible indicators of failure along the way. We have suffered the consequences of an era of "utter certainty" and it's time to begin doubting ourselves.

Agree? Disagree? Different opinion altogether? Let's discuss.

Doublespeak

Growing up on the south side of Des Moines, Iowa, I've always been offended by pretentiousness. From the fact that Paris Hilton was arrested for drunk driving in a McLaren Mercedes SLR (a car that she couldn't appreciate, nor could she afford it if it wasn't for our culture's embrace of the wealthy elite) to the overwhelming support of the Republican higher-ups by the socially and economically elite. From big enough boats to well-timed smiles to maintaining proper appearances at White House sponsored events (page 6), the socially elite, and now politically elite, maintain an air of amiability and pleasantness through the art of well-groomed public appearance both physically and rhetorically.

Of course now that the patented doublespeak of 1984 is back in style (retro fashion I expect), the pleasantries enjoyed by the elite are being exposed for what they really are, because much like an Iowa river, the surface may be smooth, but beneath the mucky waters are dangerous currents and jagged rocks.

Let's take the War on Terror for example. What began as an all out, bombs-away attack on the terrorist strongholds of the middle east under the banner of extreme patriotism and the preservation of democracy quickly became suspect as motivation from oil, fulfilling campaign contributions from private contractors, and recompense for Bush Sr.'s mistakes. Besides throwing us shoulders deep into a war that we only supported largely enough for action for a few years, the White House continued to defend the position despite cries to reconsider our strategy. Furthermore, Bush Jr. continues to push us deeper into the quicksand despite obvious results from pollsters that the American people feel the cause is either lost or that we need comprehensive help from foreign allies to attain our lofty goal. Despite initial promises to protect the people, Bush and Co. continue to speak out of both sides of their mouth, promising to do the will of the people, yet pressing on with personal interests.

Even the right's up-and-comings are playing into the game. Who could forget the countless attacks on John Kerry as a flip-flopper? Now, leading by example, the President's views on justice seem to change with the wind, giving one stance on the treatment of criminals and then taking another when the chips are down. Following in his footsteps comes Rudy Giuliani, adamantly pointing the figure at Democratic former president Bill Clinton and then backpedaling along the party line.

Not is this prevailing trend of hypocrisy becoming pedestrian with the current administration, but all around the political landscape are outlandish claims with no true connection, such as the Fox News claims that socialized medicine is a breeding ground for terrorists. Fortunately for the powers that be is psychological research that as long as an opinion is repeated, especially from a credible (this time "credible") source, it has more effect than another opinion expressed by a true majority. This means that, as long as Fox News keeps crawling the evils of socialized medicine, Hillary Clinton, environmental protection, and any and all scientists that agree with global warming across the bottom of the screen, people will believe it.

So why do 9 in 10 Americans believe that the founding fathers would be displeased with the country today? Pay attention and I'm sure we'll have an answer soon.