Just
Give Me Some Truth
Bill Gazitano
John Lennon wrote a song in the early 70's that repeated the
refrain "Just give me some truth, all I need is the truth."
Philosophically,
we can muse about what truth is. Is it perceptual, in the eye of the beholder,
relative or absolute?
How about
accuracy, candor, honesty, humility, accountability? The buck stops where? I
forgot what Truman said.
One of the
reasons
I get so frustrated with this political campaign is the amount of spin, the
level of concealment, and the mastery at which the words of others can be
masterfully distorted is unprecedented with this Administration, it makes me
crazy. I just can’t stand it.
This Administration has no shame at even repeating
inaccurate information, even after it has been discredited. The general
media either hasn't got the courage or the professional discipline to question
their statements. Sure, Clinton, Gore and now Kerry engage in some spin, it has
become an integral, if not unfortunate part of politics. But the Bush
Administration has taken it so much further, that it defies empirical evidence.
The cases in
point I have are the misleading statements that were used to justify invading
Iraq, which never seemed to be examined, while the campaign news gets diverted
to side issues. The most critical
decision a President has to make is whether or not to go to war, and how. Actually,
Congress is suppose to declare war, and the President executes it. But when Congress passes the authorization
to the President, based on a set of agreed upon criteria, the responsibility
lies with the President. We now know this President failed on both accounts. He
rushed into Iraq, before inspections were completed, and before he had a viable
plan for security following the initial invasion. He diverted our military from
an enemy that had attacked us, to one who had not, and had no ability or
intention to attack us.
How much more wrong do you have to be, in order to be voted
out of office? Still, polls suggest that Bush is still considered better
suited to fight a war on terror and to resolve Iraq, a problem he largely
created. This is too absurd for fiction, so it must be reality. Supposedly, we were just fighting a regime,
bu the regime is gone, and we are still fighting, and still losing loved ones. Wrong, wrong, wrong, Mr. Bush, shame on
you. There are no excuses. Granted
there are no excuses for Congress acquiescing, despite their reservations.
There are no excuses for the media making a war into another "reality"
show, and promoting it, by failing to be the "people's advocate" in
holding policy maker's feet to the fire.
When a President fails in a most critical decision, he or
she needs to go. All other bets are off. Most
of the reservations we have about Kerry are caricatures created by the same
spin masters who got us into Iraq without a plan to get out.. So why would
we believe anything they have to say, about Kerry?
How anyone can be undecided about this, or buy into the Bush messages of mass deception, is beyond me. But we still have a right and a responsibility, to speak out, and to help mobilize the votes we need to restore better leadership to our government, before it is too late.