There Is No "War on Terror"

Firedoglake – Firedoglake weblog » Memorial Day Truth: There Is No “War on Terror”

Terror is an emotion. Emotions are part of human nature and cannot be eradicated. A “War on Terror” is therefore a war on humanity. The Bush administration has exploited the fear and shock of a nation in the wake of a surprising and dramatic act of violence to whip national fear and paranoia into a constant boil. Why?

The evidence suggests the whole point has been to seize power and steal money. We are witnessing a creeping coup in the United States, the overthrow of the idea, promulgated by our founders and by writers like Tom Paine, that the “Law is King:”

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Bushco has enslaved Americans into a psychological reign of “War on Terror” that amounts to a criminal protection racket. We are told we must be afraid. That is, we are told we must live in terror. This is to protect us from. . . terror. Then, because we feel terrified, we must give up our freedom – freedom to write what we believe without fear of reprisal, freedom of due process and habeas corpus protection, freedom from secret intrusion into our private lives by government.

Today is Memorial Day. Today we remember countless patriots who died and fought for those freedoms our president tells us we must abandon. . . in the name of “freedom.”

A worthwhile read. I agree with Pachacutec. A commenter also provides an illustrative quote from history:

“Of course the people don’t want war. But after all, it’s the leaders of the country who determine the policy, and it’s always a simple matter to drag the people along whether it’s a democracy, a fascist dictatorship, or a parliament, or a communist dictatorship. Voice or no voice, the people can always be brought to the bidding of the leaders. That is easy. All you have to do is tell them they are being attacked, and denounce the pacifists for lack of patriotism, and exposing the country to greater danger.”

— Herman Goering, at the Nuremberg trials

Myself, I am not afraid of terrorists. The numbers game alone, is in my favor; and anyway, they can only kill me — and still they will not achieve their goal. But Bushco and the neocons can make my life unhappy — and we do have a right to pursue happiness, remember — by restricing my freedoms and lessening my safety. Here’s another pertinent quote that should be applied: “Give me liberty or give me death.”

Update: John Avarosis weighs in.