The State of the United States of America September 7, 2007: My country, Right or Wrong

September 10, 2007

Dear Readers,

Here's a piece that just HAD to come out upon my return to the states after being in the Bahamas for a month, with the opportunity to take a look back more objectively at what is and has been going on in America. My country ... right or wrong.

I haven't written anything at all in many years. The man just pushed me over the edge. The piece has gotten some good reviews. Please share it with whomever if you so desire. As widely as possible. Please try and give me credit. I'm working on getting back on my feet after two years of toying around inside the 7 + circles of hell.

Re/member, tomorrow is the 6th anniversary of 9-11. Still brings tears to my eyes remembering seeing the towers go down and then later in the afternoon looking downtown from the highest roof at TC and seeing ... no towers. Gone. Just gone. Gone. Gone ... on a beautiful September day. Gone ... no air traffic except air force jets up and down the Hudson and over Manhattan. Gone ... no traffic over the GWB. Gone ... so quiet in Manhattan. Eerie. Requiem. Rest in peace with the divine spirit.

Uh oh. I just got a message that I have 35 new messages in my Inbox. George? Dick? Alberto? Alfred? We are all Patriots .. and Matriots?

Sure am glad we're "kicking ass in Iraq."

Oh, and thanks, George.

Kate


The State of the United States of America on September 7, 2007:
My Country, Right or Wrong

Rev. Dr. Katharine A. Unger
Kingston, NY
September 7, 2007

As I was catching up on news, bills and the inevitable Mt. Vesuvius / tsunami of housework upon return from nearly a month in the Commonwealth of the Bahamas, I came across an interesting article posted by CNN yesterday September 6, 2007 on the CNN website. In case you haven’t yet seen or read it, the title of the report was:

Bush on Iraq: ‘We’re kicking ass’

(article from CNN pasted at the end of this paper).

What more is there to say? The man is a self-proclaimed “decider” and speaks his mind for himself (and most certainly not for me and, I believe, not for the vast majority of American citizens who, prior to this administration at least were under the mistaken impression, for the most part, that we were living in a democracy. Well, at least sort of a democracy. But then again, that was before George W. Bush’s ‘Patriot Act’).

I had some interesting times in Nassau this trip, far different than my many trips over the past 8-10 years as a Bahamian-American Partner contributing pro bono to support the efforts of the College of the Bahamas and the Ministry of Education. Prompted by my President's statement, I sat down and wrote a letter to a reporter for the Nassau Guardian newspaper. The following is based upon the text of that letter.

My President, the President of the United States of America, apparently made a surprise visit to Iraq last weekend, and indicated to the media that he was happy with what he saw. (The article from CNN did not say whether he was happy with what he heard, experienced, or read, only with what he saw.) President George W. Bush is quoted as having told reporters that, “The security situation is changing. There’s more work to be done. But reconciliation is taking place.” Wow. That’s great. Some years after President Bush’s triumphant fly-in to an aircraft carrier draped with banners reading, “Mission Accomplished,” how wonderful that reconciliation is taking place!

The Sydney (Australia) Morning Herald reported that President Bush spoke more candidly about the situation in Iraq in public to Australia’s Deputy Prime Minister, Mark Vaile, saying, “We’re kicking ass.” When asked about the President’s assessment as given to Deputy Prime Minister Vaile, White House Spokeswoman Dana Perino refused to confirm or deny the reported comment. Hmm. What would Tony Snow have said? Where IS Tony Snow?
These comments prompted me to reflect upon the socio-historic context of the situation in Iraq, some of the relationships between government officials and the situation in Iraq, the state of the union (our United States of America) and the state of my adopted country, the Commonwealth of the Bahamas.

I’m officially in the over 55 crowd now, having come of age in the late ‘60s and early 70’s, so my memory is not exactly what it used to be as I asked myself a series of questions like: Now, what business is the Bush family in again? Oh, that’s right, I forgot. Oil. Would that be why, pray tell, untold millions of gallons of oil have been reported missing from Iraq? would that provide any basis or justification for the Bush family invading/declaring war on Iraq not once but twice? I just don’t know. Of course, I understand that many AK 47s and handguns from the US have gone missing in Iraq, too. Oops. Not to mention all of the priceless historical, archeological artifacts along with works of art, among other things, looted just after the well-planned “liberation” of Iraq by US forces under the direction of President George W. Bush. Our tax dollars hard at work.

How about Vice President Richard Cheney? Oh, he ran that company, Halliburton, that’s right. And I understand that he still has some interest in the company. Hmm, gee, that would be the same company that has the contract to provide body bags for US soldiers killed in Iraq, right?
And those weapons of mass destruction (WMDs) that General Colin Powell showed us all at the UN many years ago which were to provide the alleged justification for the “pre-emptive” war the Bush administration convinced the country to fight? Where are the WMDs, exactly? Where is General Colin Powell, for that matter? Whither Donald Rumsfeld? Karl Rove? Tony Snow? The US Ambassador to the Bahamas? The US Consul General to the Bahamas? How about Alberto Gonzalez?

The Bahamas Journal, an independent newspaper published in Nassau, New Providence in affiliation with Jones Communications, Ltd., Wendall K. Jones, Publisher/Chief Executive Officer, wrote in their August 28, 2007 edition an editorial entitled, “President Bush, A Lame Duck?” The Journal wrote,

“George W. Bush’s Presidency is on its final legs, bound for some kind of dubious ‘glory’ for

having served in and survived after two long, hard terms in office, a time when chicanery

and dirty tricks worked at home and ended abroad,” (Section A, Page 5).

Talking about the departure of the long-embattled Alberto Gonzalez, the Journal quoted President Bush’s praise of Gonzalez as “a man of integrity, decency and principle,” going on to state their understanding that Bush also said, “It’s sad that we live in a time when a talented and honorable person like Alberto Gonzalez is impeded from doing important work because his good name was dragged through the mud for political reasons.” Upon reflection, the editor stated, “Here we beg to differ. Based on what we have learned about some of Gonzalez’ shenanigans, our wonderment has to do with the fact that he was able – all things considered – to hold on for so long.

And so today it has come down to this fact: George W. Bush – a lame duck incumbent – could do nothing to prevent the inevitable.”

I digress. Must be that over 55 thing again. Apologies. My next question was: Given what the US spends on ‘defense’ spending each year (is it in the untold trillions of dollars?) surely Osama bin Laden has been captured by now, right? Gee, I was in New York City September 11, 2001 … six (6) years ago next Tuesday. I was a witness to the Twin Towers going down. As I write, I cannot help but tear up once again at man’s inhumanity to man … the utter senselessness of it … an eye for an eye making the whole world literally blind.

I looked downtown that afternoon from the roof of Columbia University’s Teachers College on the Upper West Side of Manhattan between Broadway and Amsterdam and saw … the landscape my dad had shown me when I was a child in the ‘50’s. The Twin Towers? Gone. Just … gone. And so many souls … gone. Just … gone. Gone to be with God, surely. That does provide some comfort, but … for these sons and daughters and wives and mothers and fathers and husbands and nephews and nieces and uncles and aunts and grandmothers and grandfathers and friends and partners … was it truly the “right” time and “right” circumstance to go? Was, for example, jumping out a window from the 101st floor – where your office was located – a “good” way to die? On September 11, when I finally was able to drive home, I wiped dust off of my car and myself. For months I was wiping dust from my books and my laptop. Ashes to ashes, dust to dust.

Who was it, exactly, who said that America would catch Osama bin Laden “dead or alive?” That justice would be meted out like it was in the Wild West. I seem to recall at the time that many of the far-reaching bin Laden family who were in the US at the time were flown out of the US to safety in Saudi Arabia by their friends in the Bush administration, for their own protection. But, it seems that cowboy-style Wild West justice has not caught up with Osama bin Laden. Not dead. Not alive.

As of this morning, September 7, 2007, some 3,753 young Americans have been killed as a result of this war. Many of these deaths – 3,093 of the total 3,753 – actually occurred in combat. The latest fatality, according to my research, occurred on Wednesday, September 5, 2007. As I edit this piece again today, September 10 ... and think about tomorrow, September 11 ... Tuesday ... I wonder. Is fighting a “pre-emptive” war … using “surgical bombing” that leads to inevitable “collateral damage” truly a justifiable way for thousands of young Americans to die? Perhaps we should ask their mothers and fathers and husbands and wives and significant others and children. Where are George and Laura Bush's children? Where are Dick Cheney's children? Where are Donald Rumsfield's children? Where are Alberto Gonzalez's children?
According to UPI, it’s a tad difficult to track the number of young Americans wounded in Iraq due to the fact that the US apparently lacks the mechanisms required to accurately track the number of US troops wounded as a result of the Invasion and War executed by the American people against the people of Iraq (Source: http://fairuse.100webcustomers.com/fairenough/courier00.html accessed Friday, September 7, 2007.

A Running Log of the Wounded, (Source: http://thememoryhole.org/war/wounded/ accessed Friday, September 7, 2007, UPI reports:

“As many as 1 of every 10 soldiers from the war on terror evacuated to the Army’s biggest

hospital in Europe was sent there for mental problems. Between 8 and 10 percent of nearly

12,000 soldiers from the war on terror, mostly from Iraq, treated at the Landstuhl Regional

medical Center in Germany had ‘psychiatric or behavioral health issues,’ according to the commander of the hospital, Col. Rhonda Corhum.

That means about 1,000 soldiers were evacuated for mental problems. The hospital has treated 11,754 soldiers from the war on terror, with 9,651 from Iraq and the rest from Afghanistan, according to data released by the hospital,” (Source: http://www.veteransforcommonsense.org/newsArticle.asp?id=1542 accessed September 7, 2007).

Marilynn Marchione, a writer for the Associated Press reports this morning (September 10, 2007 in her article, "Brain Damage Plagues Thousands of GIs,"), that a "Silent Epidemic" is haunting and even killing our troops ... athough the war is not over, Marchione reports that this legacy of the war has been firmly established and is growing. Young patriots who signed up for American military service are being diagnosed with traumatic brain injury, or TBI, which, according to physicians attempting to treat the disease, is "so different from the ones doctors are used to seeing from falls and car crashes that treating them is as much faith as it is science." Doctors are learning that the symptoms of TBI can overlap with those of post-traumatic stress disorder ... but as the post-traumatic stress begins to heal, TBI-related emotional disorders can wreak havoc ... and result in suicide. Vanderbilt University staff, expert in treating TBI, are puzzled. One of the most promising graduates of their treatment program committed suicide some three weeks after completing the Vanderbilt program. (Please read the article for more in-depth information.)

According to figures provided by IraqBodyCount.Org, the Iraqi Body Count from the Invasion and ongoing War in Iraq ranges from a minimum of 71,302 to 77,852. Source: http://www.iraqbodycount.net/ accessed September 6, 2007.

Oh, what is the financial cost of the US Invasion and ongoing War in Iraq? As of about 7:40 this morning September 7, 2007, the government of the United States of America has spent $449,465,570,962 on the US Invasion and ongoing War in Iraq. That would be our American government, right? Of the people, by the people and for the people.

What else, pray tell, can that kind of money buy? Well, the US could have built 4 million 47 thousand and three (3) housing units with $449 trillion dollars. Or we could have hired 7 million 789 thousand and 272 additional public school teachers for one year. 59 million 531 thousand 732 children could attend a year of Head Start pre-school for that kind of money. We could have provided health insurance for 269 million 140 thousand and 600 children for one year. Or, we could have provided 21 million 789 thousand and 69 students four-year scholarships at public universities. Hmm. Whoever does not have health insurance please raise your hand. My hand is raised and has been for some years. Source: National Priorities Project, link to http:// http://www.nationalpriorities.org/

Given the vast resources of the US military, intelligence, and untold trillions of dollars spent since September 11, 2001 on “Homeland Security,” surely Osama bin Laden has been captured by now and his terrorist organization stopped cold in its cells. Did I miss it?
Former Representative Elizabeth Holtzman published, “The Impeachment of George W. Bush: A Practical Guide for Concerned Citizens.” Here is a summary of the detailed provisions:

Impeach George Bush and Dick Cheney

I ask Congress to impeach President Bush and Vice President Cheney for the following reasons:

1) The Offense of Lying and Inducing America to Support a War

President Bush and Vice President Cheney intentionally misled the Congress and the American people regarding the threat from Iraq in order to justify a war against Iraq, and intentionally conspired with others to defraud the United States in connection with the war against Iraq in violation of Title 18 United States Code, Section 371.


2) The Offense of Reckless Indifference to the Lives and Welfare of American Troops

President Bush and Vice President Cheney failed to provide US soldiers with bulletproof vests or appropriately-armored vehicles and had no serious plan for the aftermath of the war, thus demonstrating a complete disregard for the welfare of the troops and the need for proper governance of a country after occupation. The result has been a never-ending war that will cost U.S. taxpayers over $1 trillion with over 3,000 U.S. soldiers killed and over 21,000 wounded.


3) The Offense of Torture in Violation of U.S. Laws and Treaties

President Bush and Vice President Cheney conspired to commit the torture of prisoners in violation of the "Federal Torture Act," Title 18 United States Code, Section 113C, the UN Torture Convention and the Geneva Convention.


4) The Offense of Wiretapping Surveillance in Defiance of the Law

President Bush and Vice President Cheney admitted to ordering the National Security Agency to conduct electronic surveillance of American civilians without seeking warrants from the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court of Review, duly constituted by Congress in 1978, in violation of Title 50 United States Code, Section 1805.

Source: http://www.democrats.com/peoplesemailnetwork/65?ad=g4&gclid=CNCYpYDNtI4CFSgRGgodu3-pwwI Accessed September 8, 2007.

I forward this on to my Bahamian colleagues and those in the US as well. I am not a writer by trade. I’m primarily an educator and a musician. You are excellent writers and regularly share your brilliant insights through your publications and programs.

I’ve always believed and have been inspired to continually improve my skills as an educator due to the fact that our founding fathers judged that establishing, maintaining and sustaining a democracy depends on a well-educated citizenry who then can make informed decisions to guide that democracy (our country) in its ongoing quest to create a government of the people, by the people and for the people. Hence, a cutting-edge world-class educational system committed and dedicated to ongoing individual and organizational learning (note - I did not say "school" system) is absolutely pivotal, critical, crucial for any democracy to exist and be sustainable.

After reading a report published a few days ago in The Nassau Guardian, I had some concerns about the state of education in the Commonwealth of the Bahamas. In fact, over the last 8 – 10 years I’ve traveled to the Bahamas to share some of what I’ve learned from others and my own experiences and research during my 38 or so years as an educator on various levels, including teaching elementary, middle, and high school, being principal of elementary schools as well as large comprehensive high schools, and in higher education as a professor at Teachers College, Columbia University. This I consider part of my service and part of my secular ministry.
Of course, I am also gravely concerned with the state of education in the United States of America. You see, I grew up in the shadows of great men – Martin Luther King, Robert F. Kennedy, and John F. Kennedy, who, I am sure, was speaking directly to me whenever he said, “Ask not what your country can do for you. Ask what you can do for your country.” And so, I became a teacher. That’s what I figured I could best do for my country. It surely has not been about the money. Oh, I didn't mention great women ... it was the incredibly prolific Margaret Mead who said something like, "Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has," (Institute for Intercultural Studies, NY, accessed September 10, 2007). Imagine. Margaret Mead received 28 honorary doctorates in her lifetime. And was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom ... of course, that was after her death in 1978.

At any rate, it is my humble hope that I can be of service in whatever way(s) I can to the next President of the United States and education writ large and give back to the work from which I have derived a degree of frustration tempered with great passion and a sense of infinite possibility. We really shouldn't let schooling interfere with our education, (Twain).

As I reflect upon my experiences over the years in the Bahamas, I realize it’s not the crystal clear blue water, sun, sky, and sand that lure me back again and again to spend my own money and be of service when and where I can … not at all. The true wealth of the Commonwealth - those whom the Bahamas Journal describe as living “on these islands, rocks and cays” in the archipelago of some 700 islands – the true wealth of the country is, in my humble opinion, not found on the beaches, hotels, straw markets or casinos. The true wealth of Bahamaland is in its precious natural resources – the people. The hearts, souls, and spirits of the people are what lure me back time after time, year after year … not the “sand in my shoes,” not Junkanoo, not Bahama Mamas (although I have, from time to time been called THE Bahama Mama … I’m still waiting for the T-Shirt, frankly ; ). It’s the hearts, souls, and spirits of the people of the Commonwealth of the Bahamas, the islands in the Caribbean off the coast of Florida. The hearts, souls, and spirits of the people sing a siren song of such great beauty … I can not resist. This year the Commonwealth is proudly celebrating its 34th year of Independence from Great Britain. Wow. Congratulations are in order!

Judging from my last visit, it seems like the Commonwealth is going through some growing pains. The trip, for me, was a bit bumpy this time. From August 7 to September 2 there were some rough patches, to be sure, along with some amazing, incredible, fabulous times.
My country won its independence from Great Britain a while ago … a bit earlier than the Bahamas did. My country seems to be going through some growing pains, too. It’s bumpy here. I grew up in the shadows of the Korean ‘conflict’ and the Vietnam War. Tough times. There seem to often be rough patches to overcome, especially now, with war, global warming, scandals, crime, educational discrimination and the like. One of the differences between our countries seems to be that when the US creates a ripple in the water, it’s like a veritable Tsunami that washes over the entire world.

Barak Obama, when he was recently in our beloved (and, tragically, not yet rebuilt as promised by the Bush administration some years ago) New Orleans on the campaign trail, said something like, “For far too long America has not paid attention to its foundations.”
Of course the brilliant, far more experienced and, frankly, wiser Hillary Rodham Clinton believes “It takes a village to raise a child,” after the old African expression.
I’m sure that many in the Bahamas believe exactly the same thing that I and many others here in the States do. Let’s look at our foundations.

It does take a village to raise a child … or a country. It takes all of us. We all have to step up to the plate if we truly want a government of the people, by the people and for the people. And … somehow we have to hold hands and stick together, like we all learned to do in Kindergarten.
I’ve always believed in the old saying, “My country right or wrong. When right, kept right. When wrong, set right.” Maybe it would be a good idea for all of us to get busy ‘righting.’

Thanks to all of you for all of your day-to-day efforts to keep us well-informed and educated, and by so doing helping to sustain our democracy.

Sincerely,

Rev. Dr. Katharine Unger
Kingston, New York

RevDrKate@gmail.com

Rev.dr.kate@hotmail.com

CNN Article mentioned above:
September 6, 2007

Bush on Iraq: 'We're kicking ass'

President Bush will give his progress report on Iraq next week, based on information from Gen. David Petraeus.

WASHINGTON (CNN) — When President Bush made a surprise visit to Iraq last weekend, he made clear he was pleased with what he saw.

"The security situation is changing," Bush told reporters during the visit. "There's more work to be done. But reconciliation is taking place."

But according to the Sydney Morning Herald of Australia, the president gave a more-to-the-point assessment to Australia Deputy Prime Minister Mark Vaile.

"We're kicking ass," Bush said to Vaile Tuesday, according the Herald, after the deputy prime minister inquired about his trip to Iraq.

On Thursday, White House spokeswoman Dana Perino would not confirm or deny the reported comment.