Instead of respecting a political culture of debate and disagreement (even if not a mythical purely rational one), Bush (like Democrats, it must be said, though he has taken the sad game to a whole new level) tries to shut down discussion/debate and a civic process of responding to critics and those who disagree with him. The game is to avoid discussion/debate altogether. One goal of the game is to avoid such debate by quarantining it in academic journals (what academic will try to tell us that the entire system of academic journals is not built upon the notion?), areas of communication Goodnight has called the technical sphere of argumentation. They want to cut lines between technical, public, and personal spheres of argument, leaving public/civic life in an anemic state, sucked nearly dry of its blood of civil critical exchange. Leave rational-critical debate to the eggheads and their specialist journals. Public life is no place for it. At what cost to the quality of that public life?
In fact, one of the Bush administration's latest strategies (which Democrats too have used in the past) is to malign the term "politics" altogether. This is the anti-political political culture that the U.S. has become. At a mid-term campaign stop in Arkansas shortly before the anniversary of 9/11, Bush shamefully pleaded, "These are important times, and I would seriously hope people would not politicize these issues that I'm going to talk about." When the claims that debate and dissent are political and the implication is that such a thing is bad and opportunistic, we have reached the endgame of politics. It’s pure information war for the allegiance of an almost completely infantilized citizenry, which fortunately does not always work.
It would be one thing if the administration and its many elves had “just” deliberately and accidentally misled their own people, but they often exploited 9/11 in the process. Sadly, in remembering those whose lives were ruthlessly cut short on September 11, we are also compelled to memorialize the prolonged death of an American political culture that hardly respects civil engagement, honest reason-giving, and, ultimately, the citizenry itself.
"How dare you, Mr. President, after taking cynical advantage of the unanimity and love, and transmuting it into fraudulent war and needless death, after monstrously transforming it into fear and suspicion and turning that fear into the campaign slogan of three elections? How dare you — or those around you — ever "spin" 9/11?" (Keith Olbermann)
Article comments
1 - Mark Schannon
Very powerful peace. You make it clear that neither side has shown much courage or integrity through this terrible time.
Sigh...
In Jameson Veritas.
2 - Neelan
US also adopts double standards in dealing with terrorism.On the one hand it fights terrorism and on the other it takes the help of Mushraf in Pakistan .Since 1947,Pakistan has been training people in terrorism and has been tagetting India.Never has US or any other country condemned it.In fact,it seems,the Western countries have taken this up as an opportunity to sell arms.What has resulted is that Pak and other pan islamic nations have got support all along. and they had their training camps .And no one was bothered as long as India was targeted. Unfortunately,no one from the Islamic intelligentia have also ever condemned terrorist attacks on India ,by Pak trained militants.Even now,terrorist training camps are active inside Pakistan.Mr.Bush has to undersatnd taht
Death is same -whether it is in USA or India.
3 - jayson
Thanks, Mark. And Neelan, I agree. The "U.S." as a composite of different rulers/parties throughout the 20th Century (to say nothing of the 19th)has been ethically fickle in its foreign policy and valuation of human life. As you know, Chalmers Johnson has referred to this as blowback.
best,
Jayson
4 - Nancy
Excellent article, which just fuels my ongoing rage at & loathing of the current adminstration as well as the scumbags of both parties currently infesting congress. Unfortunately politics always seems to attract the lowest of the low ethically & morally, and they in turn infect & corrupt everything & everyone around them. As with any nest of vermin, I think we need a good fumigation of both congress & the administration, and then start over from scratch. It has become painfully obvious there isn't anything these bastards won't stoop to, for self-aggrandizement, retention of power, or continued opportunity to plunder & gorge at the public trough.