In other words: A discussion of The Bush Administration
Powerful People
No links this time, just pure rant: driving to the train station I was forced onto the wrong side of the road by a huge truck parked on the wrong side of the street facing the wrong direction, with its motor on and wheels pointed directly at me. In order to be where it was, the truck had to angle in backwards from the opposite side of a narrow two-way city street. In other words, everything about the vehicle and how it was situated in traffic was illegal. If that were me, in my vehicle, I would've been immediately arrested, and properly so. Which brings me to George Bush.
What disturbs and frightens me about this particular administration more than any of their actual crimes is that they commit them with impunity, and not only that, shove your face in it at the same time, laughing. Because they know they are above the law. What stopped Richard Nixon? Eventually, the law. What isn't stopping George Bush, and never did? The same law that applies to you and me. The law of the land, with which none of the Bushes ever were acquainted, not even in passing. Representing the law and skirting it happens all the time; how many cops have we seen roaring through red lights in blind intersections for no reason at all, or writing you tickets for things you didn't do? I'm not talking about that. George Bush is not the law. His job description (if you can call it that) does not involve the tasks of law enforcement or matters regarding the police. A national army should never be confused with law enforcement. Soldiers are not cops. As commander in chief, the president's job is to marshal troops and fight wars, which is the opposite of observing the law. All bets are off in a war. Wars are the definition of the breakdown of the social contract a society has with itself and other societies, especially if they are another country. So when we observe that no law exists in Iraq, for instance, we can pretty much conclude that it's a free for all, that anybody with a weapon can do anything they want to anybody else -- and sure enough, that's exactly what's going on. None of this should come as a surprise to anyone. Fuck the Geneva convention, right? I know if it were me with rocket grenades whizzing inches from my head from a treeline, Geneva would be the last thing I'd be thinking about. All of which is to say that war is war and laws don't exist in countries where there isn't any government, obviously.
What isn't obvious, though, is that when the head of state -- the one whose social contract promises that if you drive on the wrong side of the street going the wrong way in traffic, you represent a common threat and must be dealt with, either by putting your ass in jail or impounding your vehicle and taking your license -- brazenly flouts every law, foreign and domestic, simply because he shall never face a single consequence and thus has no fear of ever facing one, that law becomes moot and society breaks down, like a fatal crack in marble. The fact that none of the perpetrators -- of the crimes committed since this adminstration usurped Washington and demolished its founding institutions by suspending the law and taking a sledgehammer to them -- have even been held accountable will come back to bite us in the ass, hard. Imagine driving the I-95 at 80 miles and hour and seeing three cars coming right at you.
That's what's at stake when a president rules without law.
- Michael 11:36 AM - [PermaLink] -
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