I wish theoria had his "what's your fuckin' problem" thread up tonight, because a lot of things are coming together for me. Almost everything that's infuriated me over the last three years has solidified like piss-flavored jello.
In a nutshell: we're the world's biggest pile of pansies. And I'm ashamed of us.
We've become The Nation that Jumps at Shadows. Just look at the justification for Iraq. Saddam might have some weapons and he might give them to somebody who might hurt us. So damn, we better get with the bombing. Come on, even assuming that Saddam
had any weapons in the first place, what kind of pantywaist logic is this? Preemptive war. We have to kill people before they get a chance to kill us. And we think that makes us brave.
In my home state of Missouri, a state I'm almost ashamed to claim these days, we've passed a concealed weapons law so us powder-white babies can run around with "big iron" tucked under our coats. We vote down mass transit because we're convinced that black people are going to ride out into the suburbs and take our digital TVs home on the train. But we fund concealed weapons. And we think that makes us brave.
We bomb children in their cradles and shoot women in the street. We go to bed with dictators and hand over nations to warlords that promise to keep us safe. That's what we call "standing up to terrorism." That's what passes for being brave.
Everywhere, in every way, we've become convinced that "shoot first, ask questions later" is not only a justifiable position, but an honorable approach. Look at the bozo's over on Free Republic (actually, don't, unless you own stock in a company that manufactures blood pressure medication). They're hopping up and down about how we should nuke all the Iraqis (who they affectionately call "sandmaggots"). And they think that's tough. They actually think they're John Wayne when they call for mass murder by pushbutton.
We complain that the Arabs are barbarians, who only understand an eye for an eye. Then we gouge out more eyes to prove our moral superiority.
We cling to the media and to Georgie Bush because they read us the bedtime story we want to hear. We sit in front of the tube and bravely down another beer and tell the pollsters that we sure do approve of all that killing thousands of miles away. After all, the big selling point, the point that keeps getting repeated, is that killing people thousands of miles away will make sure that no killing happens close to us. And God knows, we're brave.
We'll give up our rights, pay any amount of our children's money, wave a flag, give up our shoes to be X-rayed and other people's kids to die. Because we're brave.
Do I think that we're just as evil as the terrorists? No. But I think we've forgotten something. We've forgotten what brave really means. And, I know it sounds like something from King Arthur, or one of those video-game commercials for the Marines, but we've forgotten our honor. Being brave does not mean squashing everything in the world that frightens you. Having honor means putting your principles ahead of your fears.
So, come on Mr. Kerry, make the bold move on Iraq. Make the bold move on America. Don't just call for international cooperation, call for sacrifice. Take the risk of being actually compassionate. Take the risk of real leadership. Take a frigging risk! Thrill me with real bravery. Until someone figures out that a nation unwilling to risk taking a blow, is a nation of cowards, I'm going to be humiliated
And everyone in Missouri that applies for a concealed-carry permit is a thumb-sucking coward. Yeah, I'm talking to you.