Bush using terrorist attacks to manipulate nation
June 1, 2003
Re. May 24 Forum letter by Kristopher Villiger, "History will salute Iraq war":
Mr. Villiger was right about one thing: "The Hitler movie on CBS could not have come at a better time." But here’s why. It’s well-known that the producer of the Hitler movie was fired because he dared to remark that the freedom-killing tactics of the Bush administration are similar to things Hitler did to gain power. Time magazine stated that the producer’s firing for warning Americans of the dangers in our own country just proves his point.
In the movie, after the Reichstag was set on fire by Hitler’s own agents, Hitler used the event to manipulate the German people: "This, this is a signal from God! We are under siege! The terrorists have opened fire - and we will fire back!" When legislators objected to his override of the Weimar Republic Constitution, he pushed for totalitarian control: "These are troubled times, the Constitution could not anticipate them. . . . Our democracy is under attack. If we are to wage war on these foreign infiltrators, certain civil rights must be suspended."
Most chilling of all, when German legislators reacted to that with outrage, the Nazis drowned them out by singing patriotic songs. This is exactly what happened at the Rockford College commencement recently. When the anti-war speaker explained that people suspend their conscience during unjust wars, a woman tried to drown him out by singing "God Bless America."
Anti-war protesters are not "ashamed and embarrassed." Bush rolling over Iraq reminds them of Hitler rolling over Poland, which started a world war. We are, however, appalled at the mass grave found at Basra, because Bush the First did not protect those people as he promised, and Saddam murdered them for trusting that American leader.
At least the current President Bush does not have the mesmerizing speaking skills of Adolf Hitler. So what excuse do the American people have for letting him use a terrorist attack to manipulate our nation into many overrides of our Constitution, and perhaps endless war?