THE PROBLEM WITH CREATING REALITY

We're an empire now, and when we act, we create our own reality. And while you're studying that reality—judiciously, as you will—we'll act again, creating other new realities, which you can study too, and that's how things will sort out. We're history's actors ... and you, all of you, will be left to just study what we do.
Karl Rove


What happened to one of the most important issues facing the Obama Administration and this nation? Just over a week ago I was watching Morning Joe on MSNBC with Joe Scarboro and his sidekick Mika Brzezinski fretting over the issue of evidence that clearly indicates the United States government was committing acts of torture in violation of the “Convention Against Torture” signed by President Reagan, Article 146 of the Geneva Convention, Article 8 of the International Tribunal at Nuremberg and Article VI of our own Constitution

Morning Joe was being especially passionate in a partisan way first claiming that Nancy Pelosi knew what the government was doing in essence admitting torture occurred but because the Speaker of the House knew it was going on she and by extension the silence of the Democratic Party is complicity and perhaps they shouldn’t pursue this path where serious charges of war crimes can be made against members of the Bush Administration.

That was the moment I began referring to Morning Joe as Sanctimonious Scarboro. I mean here’s former Representative Joe Scarboro representing Florida’s 1st Congressional District by voting to impeach William Jefferson Clinton for obstruction of justice and ten years later he wants President Obama to look the other way when real high crimes and misdemeanors were committed and not just a mere act of fellatio.

Then Sanctimonious Scarboro proceeded to claim that any attempt to address this issue would result in show trials and just in case the viewer still questioned Morning Joe’s position he played the fear card by stating that the proceedings and the truths exposed would “embolden our enemy”. That’s the kind of leap one takes out of desperation.

Meanwhile Mika was being coy with the camera and acted nonplused when she nonchalantly said “if mistakes were made it’s time to move on”. Perhaps Mika needed another cup of Joe because her response reflected the views of someone totally divorced from reality while pretending it never happened.

If not now, when Mika? Nixon committed high crimes and misdemeanors and we looked the other way. We looked the other way when Reagan and Bush I were involved in the Iran-Contra scandal. Certainly now after the facts have been made public which indicate the strongest of possibilities that the United States government permitted acts of torture to be committed – if not now, when do we hold someone accountable other than a few bad apples at the top of the barrel spoiled by the rot at the bottom of the barrel, the top office holders of our government.

The Morning Joe panel then proceeded to analyze how the Obama Administration should respond to the issue without ever considering or mentioning that their solutions should be influenced by one of the American values i.e. we are a nation of law that allegedly caused the terrorists to hate us so much that they created the tragedy and suffering of 9/11. Liberty and justice for all yet our past shows that our rhetoric laced with such lofty values have yet to be matched in reality.

Here’s the analysis from Yova’s beach:

The Democrats should have impeached George W Bush in 2006. There was already sufficient evidence that he committed high crimes and misdemeanors without even addressing the war crime of torture. They lacked the courage that justice demanded when they decided not to put impeachment on the table in essence not to hold anyone accountable and thus exposed as myth that we are nation of laws and not a nation of men.

The Democratic Party has an opportunity to right a wrong and in the process they’ll have to accept their responsibility for authorizing George W Bush to wage an illegal, immoral and unjust war against the sovereign nation of Iraq. They can find strength and comfort remembering that in a government where all three branches of government were controlled by the Republicans 133 house Democrats and 23 senate Democrats voting against authorizing war yet only 6 Republican house members and only 1 Republican Senator voted against war.

That said given the plethora of problems left behind from the previous administration, their abject failure to address high crimes and misdemeanors in the past and in acceptance or their own culpability the Democrats should not conduct hearings or investigations. The hypocrisy would be too obvious.

Nor should the Democrats assign the task to a special prosecutor because that would result in too much of the truth being kept a secret and enough of it leaked to create an atmosphere of mistrust and the last thing we need in this country is for the public to distrust its government. Transparency is the best way to achieve trust and that would be a significant change to politics as usual.

As for Sanctimonious Scarboro’s fear that congressional investigations would result in show trials that seems more likely to occur if a so-called truth commission was created. I mean really a “truth commission” modeled after the “9/11 Commission” in which only Richard Clarke accepted responsibility and apologized to the public, George W Bush was allowed to testify in private with Dick Cheney at his side and no one was held accountable. Now that’s a show trial.

Besides this isn’t like South Africa which upon gaining independence created a truth commission where forgiveness would aid reconciliation between master and slave. We’ve had our independence for over 200 years. We might not be able to handle the truth but we can no longer avoid it and the truth is that Obama didn’t release the memos as a political act to smear the previous administration he was under threat of a subpoena to release the documents based on a freedom of information act request. The memos support the allegation that the U.S. committed torture and as such war crimes.

I would suggest the creation of an independent council supported by both parties, the Democrats for reasons outlined earlier and the Republicans who should put country first in reality rather than mere rhetoric or election slogans. That only 7 Republicans voted against the authorization to wage war in Iraq leads to the evitable conclusion that to date they’ve put party first and are thus responsible for the war crimes that inevitably followed after all if there is no war there are no war crimes. War is indeed hell.

An independent council would be tasked with:

Determining what the law on torture was prior to Bush Administration lawyers redefining reality.

Conducting an investigation to determine if the law was violated, support how it was violated and find out who violated it.

Interview those who violated the law to determine why the law was violated

Determine who was responsible, deciding how they should be held accountable and then uphold the law to the fullest extent.

Pragmatically speaking in today’s world since we claim to be the leader of the free world, the bastion of democracy, we are a nation of laws and not of men yet with events in Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iran, Palestine etc. we will have to have world support if we are to solve the crisis stirring to the boiling point in those regions of the world.

It’s really time for the United States to put up or shut up. Do we have the courage of our convictions? Are we really the land of the brave or is it all bluster when we beat our chests. If one of America’s values is that we are a nation of laws shouldn’t our actions reflect that in our actions rather than risk the charge of hypocrisy?

Are we so insensitive to the stench of such shameless rank hypocrisy that we can’t smell that which stinks to the rest of the really civilized world? If we deny the existence of that value doesn’t it presents a compelling case that the terrorists have indeed won for we’ve become just like them? That the detractors claim to wage this war against terrorism we have to use “enhanced interrogation techniques” removes that which is supposed to distinguish “us” and “them.”

In fact those who no longer believe we are a nation of laws claim that we risk another terrorist attack because of publicity given to the issue of “our” terrorism and almost guarantees another 9/11 from “their” terrorism if we pursue justice – another endangered American value. Seems to me that since violence begets violence it’s not a question of “if” we will be on the suffering end of another terrorist attack but “when” and the risk has nothing to do with having a moral and divisive debate about “enhanced interrogation techniques” but everything to do with coming together and confronting the uncomfortable truth – we committed torture.

The whole world is watching how we accept responsibility for our actions as a nation and if we just move on as Mika suggests it will embolden our enemies to hate us more and embolden our friends to no longer be impressed by our empty rhetoric demanding that other nations show respect for human rights while we do not.

In essence the Karl Rove mindset that we are an empire which can create our own reality where “torture” is called “enhanced interrogation techniques” therefore it’s not “torture” is a classic example of putting lipstick on a pig and will result in our own destruction when faced with the reality that we are not above the law. I dare call it treason.

That the issue of torture was the top story only two weeks ago and that now the press acts as a willing participant by consigning it to the past and replacing it with something more tangible to fear i.e. the swine flu that may or may not have resulted in one or two, yes only one or two deaths indicates that we are on the way to moving on with little or no regard for addressing the consequences of our actions.

Whoever fights monsters should see to it that in the process he does not become a monster. And when you look long into an abyss, the abyss also looks into you.
Nietzsche