Trust us - the wolf is at the door

I guess I am dating myself when I say that I remember a time in the not too distant past when you could believe it if the government said it. It was like – well … money in the bank. Back in the days of the Cuban Missile Crisis, I was a kid and remember well hearing JFK on TV telling us the situation, and how he was sending war ships to Cuba to blockade the ports literally daring the Russian Bear to challenge our position. He said that he had every confidence that things would work out fine – and we believed it! Sure we were a little scared but we knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that this man, our president, wouldn’t lie to us and if he had confidence it would be all right, then we should too. Here was an example of a leader who could lead in a positive way and bring along we the people to understand and believe that he was doing his best and all would be fine.

As an adult I know that politicians don’t always tell the truth, and blind faith can be a problem under any circumstance, but when your government has never openly given you reason to disbelieve their good intentions, has never overtly lied and dared you to tell them they haven’t been honest, has done things in a way that makes you proud to be a member of we the people, you believe them and are glad to know they are there as your representative and leader.

We are currently being ‘led’ by the wolf is at the door administration. A group that flies in the face of all the positive we have come to expect, all the comfort and sense of fair play we believed was part and parcel of our country. They have taken all that shepherded us through the dark times and turned it into worry and often despair.

FDR said there is nothing to fear but fear itself… BushCo says, be afraid -- be VERY afraid. Fear is their battle cry, their MO, their means to control the sheep they should be shepherding instead of leading to slaughter. We have seen color coded fear; we have heard veiled threats of what might be happening to cause fear; we have heard that we are unpatriotic if we question this fear; and on and on and on. Yet each time it appears that the ones of whom we should be afraid are the very ones who should be protecting us from that which we fear.

How well I remember the hype that led us into the debacle that is Iraq – the mushroom cloud image, the WMD of every possible variety from poison gas to nuclear warheads; the imminent threat posed to our homeland, our homes, us! We are now seeing from sources and studies, so numerous they appear to be falling out of the sky, about the inaccuracy of the touted threats, the cooked intelligence, the skewed logic, the arrogant certitude, that led us into a war of choice – the deaths of over 3100 of our brave fighting forces, uncounted thousands of Iraqis, many thousands moreAmericans and Iraqi civilians wounded with life altering physical injuries, a full blown civil war that deteriorates minute by minute to the tune of billions of dollars and blood.

And now the wolf at the door has a new name – Iran. Do you recognize the hype and the accusations? Iran’s government is giving weapons to Iraqi insurgents… but wait the insurgents are Sunni and Iranians are Shi’a. Iran’s government has said show us the proof you have that we are giving weapons to Iraqis because it is against our foreign policy. But no, the administration won’t show them the proof. Could it be because they don’t have it? Or is it the schoolyard logic of being unwilling to talk to evil doers.

Another Roosevelt, a Republican, said “Speak softly and carry a big stick” . . . the stick (our military might) is getting smaller and smaller while the voice is strident and loud – saying nothing and endangering everyone.