Angry Political Gobbledy-Gook

OK so sorry to bring down the mood but today I got this email from someone that I respect, admire and love. The email was one of these politically derisive "join the dark-side" forwards (see below). It caused me some fairly serious gastric issues and promted me to respond. But here is the thing: I know that writing back and addressing the errors of some other dude's crap would do nothing but cause personal strife. Responding to a forward is just not a good move. I think my decision to "Save Draft" and not to "Send" shows at least a little maturity. But I still feel obligated to voice my outrage. SO here is the forward and my intended response:

You Ain't Gonna Like Losing! "A MUST READ":

President Bush did make a bad mistake in the war on terrorism. But the mistake was not his decision to go to war in Iraq. Bush's mistake came in his belief that this country is the same one his father fought for in WWII. It is not.
Back then, they had just come out of a vicious depression. The country was steeled by the hardship of that depression, but they still believed fervently in this country. They knew that the people had elected their leaders,so it was the people's duty to back those leaders.Therefore, when the war broke out the people came together, rallied behind and stuck with their leaders, whether they had voted for them or not -- or whether the war was going badly or not. And war was just as distasteful and the anguish just as great then as it is today.Often there were more casualties in one day in WWII than we have had in the entire Iraq war. But that did not matter. The people stuck with the President because it was their patriotic duty. Americans put aside their differences in WWII and worked together to win that war. Everyone from every strata of society, from young to old pitched in. Small children pulled little wagons around to gather scrap metal for the war effort. Grade school students saved their pennies to buy stamps for war bonds to help the effort.Men who were too old or medically 4-F lied about their age or condition trying their best to join the military. Women doubled their work to keep things going at home. Harsh rationing of everything from gasoline to soap, to butter was imposed, yet there was very little complaining.You never heard prominent people on the radio belittling the President. Interestingly enough in those days there were no fat cat actors and entertainers who ran off to visit and fawn over dictators of hostile countries and complain to them about our President. Instead, they made upbeat films and entertained our troops to help the troops' morale. And abunch even enlisted.And imagine this: Teachers in schools actually started the day off with a pledge of allegiance, and with prayers for our country and our troops!Back then, no newspaper would have dared point out certain weak spots in our cities where bombs could be set off to cause the maximum damage. No newspaper would have dared complain about what we were doing to catch spies. A newspaper would have been laughed out of existence if it had complained that German or Japanese soldiers were being "tortured" by being forced to wear women's underwear, or subjected to interrogation by a woman, or being scared by a dog or did not have air conditioning.There were a lot of things different back then. We were not subjected to a constant bombardment of pornography, perversion and promiscuity in movies or on radio. We did not have legions of crackheads, dope pushers and armed gangs roaming our streets. No, President Bush did not make a mistake in his handling of terrorism. He made the mistake of believing that we still had the courage and fortitude of our fathers. He believed that this was still the country that our fathers fought so dearly to preserve. It is not the same country. It is now a cross between Sodom and Gomorra and the land of Oz. We even have the wicked witch of the west as the new Speaker of the House of Representatives. We did unite for a short while after 9/11, but our attitude changed when we found out that defending our country would require some sacrifices. We are in great danger. The terrorists are fanatic Muslims. They believe that it is okay, even their duty, to kill anyone who will not convert to Islam. It has been estimated that about one third or over three hundred million Muslims are sympathetic to the terrorists cause. . . Hitler and Tojo combined did not have nearly that many potential recruits. We either win it - or lose it - and you ain't gonna like losing.

MY RESPONSE:

Sorry, [NAME WITHHELD], but this is ignorant drivel. This is the worst sort of revisionist history and it is insulting to all Americans.

Before we discuss and refute the historic flaws herein, let us consider the implications of the argument being true. It means the president has no idea what is going on outside his windows. If he is able to so easily misjudge the people he leads, the people that elected him, then i ask what business he has leading. Don't Americans deserve a leader with a firm grip on reality? Should you not expect your leaders to consider the viewpoints of their constituents or at least acknowledge the validity therein?

SO in short, if this has any basis, it proves the ineptitude of the leadership. As to the historic lies, let us begin with the Great Depression. How did Americans support the leaders that ignored the realities of the situation? How does America feel about Hoover even today? Further I must add that America was reluctant to get involved in the war. Did we jump in at the invasion of Poland, or Russia, or France? No. No one wanted war. No one, especially no leader sought reasons to fight. And remember that throughout the war, Americans needed reminders of "Why We Fight." As to American blind support, two points: First, the leadership was willing to take responsibility. Remember that Ike said if D-Day was a failure the responsibility was his and his alone. Where is the leadership's embrace of responsibility today? Secondly, blunders WERE in fact met with disdain. How did America react to Operation Market Garden or to Patton slapping that kid around?

Now, we are not merely living in a post WWII world but in a post Korea, post Viet Nam world. Many of us should have known better. Like WWII generals, we should have done everything possible to prepare for the invasion. Remember that D-day was years after Pearl Harbor. Those planning the war did their best to insure victory by looking beyond the horizon toward an end to fighting. Mistakes were made and men died for them, but perhaps they had reason to trust their leaders.

Propaganda like the email to which I am responding is short sighted, partisan and inflammatory, intent on dividing an already wounded country. If you don't believe that I have the right to extrapolate on the intent of the author, then ask yourself why that author has the right to extrapolate on the intent of so many others: Americans with different view points, Muslims, pacifists, etc.

The "You ain't gonna like losing" email and the actions of the administration share the same flaws. In each case, vast amounts of historic, factual and contextual evidence have been ignored leaving only the evidence and assumptions supporting a specific, intended conclusion. In reality, the full picture is far bigger and more complex and open to other conclusions.

We should all have known better. Let's hope for something better. We deserve better.

Pray for PEACE,