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We should be protesting such a stupid foreign policy, not just in the streets but in letters to the editors, calls to talk shows and discussions with our friends and neighbors.
We need courageous foreign-service officers who will tell it like it is. We need civil servants who will risk their jobs to serve their country. We need rival political parties, like the Greens and Libertarians, to back off their dreams -- for now -- and join the fight to save our nation.
We need corporate CEOs to draw the line and quit paying the bribes demanded by both parties. "But, Harley," the CEOs will argue, "if we don't pay, we lose out, our profits drop and we lose our jobs." That may be true, but the health of our nation is more important than any company's profits, any man's job. If we lose this good thing we have going here, this wonderful United States of America, we may never get it back.
And we need character in our press. The much-chronicled sins of one cheating New York Times reporter pale compared with the propaganda that comes out of Fox News or MSNBC on a daily basis.
I know that sucking up to the lowest common denominator builds ratings, and high ratings translate into bigger paychecks, but our nation is at stake and it's time to stop pandering. We need a responsible press. You and I should demand a responsible press.
So, organize. Do what you can as an individual. We have to fight back. I've made a few suggestions, but I know from experience that people who read this column can come up with a thousand better ones. Do that. And spread the word.
Will all our efforts drive Bush from office? No. But we can distract him, and slow down his attempts to rebuild America in his own image. In 17 months we can vote him out of office. If our movement is powerful enough, we'll have a choice then between a good Democrat and a good Republican not named Bush.
"...Whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these Ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government..."
(Late-breaking news: I just heard VoterMarch is sponsoring a permitted protest from 5 pm to 7 pm today in Manhattan, where Bush will be staging a $2,000-a-plate reelection-campaign fund-raiser at the Sheraton New York Hotel. I've also heard a rumor that an anti-Bush march is planned for July 4 in Philadelphia. So the movement is already under way!)
Harley Sorensen is a longtime journalist and liberal iconoclast. His column appears Mondays. E-mail him at harleysorensen@yahoo.com.
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