Dr. Edward Demenchonok
Philosophical Reflections During the 2004 Elections: Essays and Letters to The New York Times, USA Today, and The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
I am writing regarding Jay Bookman's article "Bush team's pitch: Vote for us or die," (Sep. 9), commenting on Vice President Dick Cheney's disgraceful statement in a campaign speech that if John Kerry was elected president, "the danger is that we'll get hit again." I think Bookman hit the nail on the head, unmasking the fear-mongering style of the Bush-Cheney re-election campaign. This Halloween scare tactic undemocratic and it is a pattern of Bush-Cheney foreign and domestic politics: threaten foreign nations with the preventive war doctrine, keep pumping the country full of fear of the "axis of evil" and world terrorism, and against this background continually portray themselves as the alleged "saviors" of the nation, thus demanding unlimited dictatorial power.
Since the so-called "war on terror" has been declared global and endless, with no limits, so it is used to justify a perpetuation of the "state of war" and authoritarian power. This politics of fear demands from Americans a war-time obedience, to sacrifice their lives, civil liberties, and economic prosperity.
Ironically, the real danger is precisely the Bush-Cheney political stance itself, which already damaged the position of the US in the world and made our nation more vulnerable. The terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, happened under their watch, and as the 9/11 commission report showed, there were many mistakes in national security policy; not everything had been done that could have been done to prevent this tragedy.
The perpetrator, Osama bin Laden, still has not been captured and the mission in Afghanistan remains unfinished. Al Qaeda still operates with impunity in the boarder regions between Afghanistan and Pakistan. Instead of finishing their business with Osama, Bush-Cheney rushed to invade Iraq. To sell this war, they terrified the American people with an allegedly "imminent threat" of supposed stockpiles of unconventional weapons. This pretext turned out to be false. But those who misled American people still remain in power and claim to continue their "leadership."
The short-term political gains of Bush-Cheney became a long-term disaster. The American people already paid a heavy price for Bush's war: more than 1,000 Americans have been killed and more than 7,000 injured, and more than 200 billion dollars of spending, added to the already enormous budget deficit. American troops are trapped in Iraq, which is on the verge of civil war, and the insurgency against the occupying power became a breeding ground for more terrorism. The invasion in Iraq estranged America from its traditional European and Asian allies, and inflamed hatred against Americans in Arab world. This makes Americans a target and less secure both abroad and at home.
The catastrophic results of the current administration's policies do not make sense to any reasonable person. But by the "logic of absurd", Bush-Cheney try to mislead the American people even more: they present the Iraq fiasco as a "mission accomplished" victory, and exploit the uncertainty of the war to their own political advantage by pumping up paranoia and fear, which blinds people and makes them hostages of a propaganda. Censorship under the pretext of the "Patriot Act" and so-called "political correctness" spawns a whole atmosphere of fear.
The current administration lost its credibility in the eyes of many Americans and of the world. Only the election of a new presidential team can bring us a fresh start and a hope of an end to this downward spiral to catastrophe, to regain the public trust in the US and abroad, and to strengthen those who want to change the situation for the better and to live in a peaceful and prosperous world. During these coming elections, the choice is dramatic: to continue the militaristic politics of imperial ambitions, which in this planet full of weapons of mass destruction can provoke a collective suicide, or to choose the wise course of peace and collaboration in the world, which will regain safety and prosperity for Americans. In this sense, the dilemma truly is "vote or die": to remain a hostage of militarism and fear, or to vote for an alternative politics of peace and prosperity in the global world. I vote for a peaceful and democratic alternative.
Dr. Edward Demenchonok is a university professor, the author of numerous books and articles. He is listed in several biographical dictionaries, including
Who's Who in the World, 2000 Outstanding Scholars of the 21st Century, and One Thousand Great Americans, and he is the recipient of the 21st Century Award for Achievements in Philosophy from the International Biographical Centre.
A Nation at Risk
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