Wednesday, June 29, 2005

THE DURBIN DEBACLE & POLITICAL RHETORIC

by BILL HAGER

Over the past two years, the Swift Boat Vets "For Truth" have spent millions in cybermoney trying to convince the American people of a concerted Communist link between Vietnam Veterans Against The War circa the '70s (VVAW, circa 1970s) and John Kerry. Meanwhile, Senator Durbin, D-Ill and Amnesty International is accusing US Forces of being on par with the Nazis & KGB in their handling of prisoners at Guantanamo and less well known locations.

How is anyone not dogmatically aligned to the Far Right or Far Left ever going to hear, feel, see, or know the Truth when faced with that kind of rhetorical investment? Those currently in political power (and those currently trying to regain power) are equally guilty of hiding and distorting the Truth to suit their own political, personal, or capital gain. They purposefully revise history to support their particular premises. See: Communism & VVAW by Bill Hager at VetSpeak.com.) As long as Big Money supports these efforts, the interests of the People become secondary to political gain and control of power.

A Rose By Any Other Name...

As long as I can remember, there are those designated as PC (Politically Correct) or Thought Police whose sole purpose is to defy the boundaries of decorum (other than their own) to shape the consciousness of the masses. Across the political spectrum, examples include Hitler's Gestapo, Mao's Red Guard and Russia's KGB.

Closer to home, in the 1970s, Nixon called upon the FBI and Plumbers -- some of whom are still on the job -- as political operatives and spokespersons for the Big Money on the Right.

In the 2000s, a strong example of Thought Police is the Swift Boat Vets "For Truth" on the Right and the ACLU on the Left. All are charged with furthering their particular political ideology at all costs, especially in situations where objective political Truth stands in the way of achieving their goals.

These PC/Thought Police attempt to subvert the will of the American people through misinformation and disinformation by revising history through the art of the "Political Spin". These tactics forsake the basic principles of the Constitution and the free will of the American people, the right to self determination as a People and the right to question and freely challenge political power without fear of political repression. These tactics -- although primarily aimed at Undecided voters -- affect all of us, not just the direct targets of their political spins.

All of the above-mentioned groups evolved, in time, to control or to attempt to control, the political consciousness of the Adoring and/or Toiling masses, and most importantly in today's volatile American political climate -- the Undecided Voter Masses, especially in political swing states. Undecided voters are the strategic targets of think tanks, PACs, 527s, and corporate/special interest lobbyists all funded by Big Money.

Unless the tides are turned here and now; these half-truths, character assassinations and redundantly rhetorical tactics might succeed. When we go to the polls, our votes should be cast on considered options based on our own personal beliefs, values, and knowledge gained from factual research. We have a personal and communal responsibility to seek the objective Truth, regardless of the mind-numbing redundancy, over- simplification and purposeful spinning of perspectives of Big-Money financed political operatives on both the Left and Right.

The American People must be given the resources and support they need to have their pragmatic political voices heard over the current din of political acrimony and to rally against the forces of political repression and historical revisionism. America's destiny belongs in the hands of the People, not in the hands of political operatives of either Political Party who use rhetoric to subvert Truth to further their personal, political and capital goals.

So, what does all of this have to do with the Durbin Debacle in the US Senate found in the title on this piece? Consider this: Are we really like Gestapo and KGB in our dealings with our enemies as Senator Durbin D-Ill claims? Or is there some light to be shed on those shameful remarks designed to win political hearts and minds?

For Truth to prevail, the Swift Boat Vets "For Truth's" untrue and undocumented claims about Kerry, VVAW and the Communist Party during the 1970s anti-war years -- and their attempts to rewrite history to their own purposes -- must be made public.

Windbender
www.vetspeak.com