It appears that facts never come into the thinking of Radical Republicans.
I said to those group of people... "President Bush and his Administration lied to the American people about why we are the targets of terrorism---he said that we are the target because we stand for democracy, freedom, and human rights in the world--- I say that's completely wrong... though it's such a great explanation to get stupid people all worked up. I say to them that we are the target of terrorists because when it is convenient we stand for dictatorship, bondage, and human exploitation in the world. I say we are the target of terrorists because we are hated. And we are hated because our government has done hateful things.
I tell them we are not hated because we practice democracy, freedom, and human rights. We are hated because we continually exploit and meddle in the affairs of foreign governments for our own gain and practice selective hypocrisy worldwide. And that hatred we have sown has come back to haunt us in the form of terrorism - and in the future... nuclear terrorism."
When I said this, well... you would have though I had taken out an American flag, squatted and used old glory for toilet paper. I remembered the stout old oak tree outside the building and scanned the crowd for anyone holding a rope.
Tempting fate... I continued...
"We must recognize the threat of nuclear terrorism closing in upon us. Chemical terrorism is at hand, and biological terrorism is a future danger. None of our thousands of nuclear weapons can protect us from these threats. No 'Star Wars' system... no matter how technically advanced, no matter how many trillions of dollars was poured into it... can protect us from even a single terrorist bomb. Not one weapon in our vast arsenal can shield us from a nuclear weapon delivered to a New Jersey Turnpike chemical plant, in a sailboat or a Piper Cub or a suitcase or a Ryder rental truck. Not a penny of the 273 billion dollars a year we spend on so-called homeland defense can actually defend us against a terrorist bomb.
Nothing in our enormous military establishment can actually give us one whit of security. That is a military fact."
As usual, the group of lintheads began the standard tactic of "attack the messenger and ignore the message" and began shouting me down with cries of "Stupid Liberal" and other well-worn phrases.
I shouted back and asked them... "In how many countries have we deposed popularly elected leaders and replaced them with puppet military dictators who were willing to sell out their own people to American multinational corporations? We did it in Iran when we deposed Mossadegh because he wanted to nationalize the oil industry. We replaced him with the Shah, and trained, armed, and paid his hated Savak national guard, which enslaved and brutalized the people of Iran... all to protect the financial interests of our oil companies. Is it any wonder there are people in Iran who hate us?"
Ignoring the cries of "Communist", "Anti-American" and "terrorist supporter", I continued...
We did it in Chile when we deposed Allende, democratically elected by the people, to introduce socialism. We replaced him with the brutal right-wing military dictator, General Pinochet. Chile has still not recovered. We did it in Vietnam when we thwarted democratic elections in the South which would have united the country under Ho Chi Minh. We replaced him with a series of ineffectual puppet crooks who invited us to come in and slaughter their people... and we did. We did it in Iraq, where we killed a huge numbers of civilians in a failed attempt to topple Saddam Hussein, and where we have killed approximately a million since then with our sanctions. About half of these innocent victims have been children under the age of five."
By this time the only thing keeping me from a full-on lynching was the fact that no one in the crowd was brave enough to be the first to lay a hand on me. That, and the two VERY large and intimidating friends I had with me that were positioned on either side of the stage... both to keep the crowd at bay and to keep the sound man from turning off my microphone. I forged ahead...
"And, of course, how many times have we done it in Nicaragua and all the other banana republics of Latin America? Time after time we have ousted popular leaders who wanted the riches of the land to be shared by the people who worked it. We replaced them with murderous tyrants who would sell out and control their own people so that the wealth of the land could be taken out by Domino Sugar, the United Fruit Company, Folgers, and Chiquita Banana.
In country after country, our government has thwarted democracy, stifled freedom, and trampled human rights. That's why we are hated around the world. And that's why we are the target of terrorists."
By this time there was a palpable feeling of hatred emanating from the crowd. A dangerous intensity in the eyes of many was directed at me like a laser beam. The muttering began to sound like a plot forming and I realized that mob mentality was beginning to take hold. I felt like the lone black person speaking to hardcore Klan members. Still I pressed on...
"Instead of seeking to be king of the hill, we should become a responsible member of the family of nations. Instead of stationing hundreds of thousands of troops around the world to protect the financial interests of our multinational corporations, we should bring them home and expand the Peace Corps. Instead of training terrorists and death squads in the techniques of torture and assassination, we should close the School of the Americas (look it up if you don't know what that is). Instead of supporting military dictatorships, we must support true democracy... the right of the people to choose their own leaders. Instead of supporting insurrection, destabilization, assassination, and terror around the world, we would do better service to the security of this nation if we abolish things like the School of the Americas and give the money to relief agencies. In short, we should do good instead of evil. We should become the good guys, once again. The threat of terrorism would vanish. That is what the American people need to hear. That is what the world wants to hear. We are good people. We only need to be told the truth by our leaders and given the vision.
The crowd was eerily silent now and staring at me like I was a vomit stain on America's prom dress. Fuck 'em... I really let them have it...
"How do we fight back against bin Laden? The first thing we must ask ourselves is what is it we hope to achieve... security or revenge? The two are mutually exclusive... seek revenge and we WILL reduce our security. If it is security we seek, then we must begin to answer the tough questions... what are the grievances of the Palestinians and the Arab world against the United States, and what is our real culpability for those grievances? Where we find legitimate culpability, we must be prepared to cure the grievance wherever possible. Where we cannot find culpability or a cure, we must communicate honestly our positions directly to the Arab people. In short, our best course of action is to remove ourselves as a combatant in the disputes of the region."
To kill bin Laden now would be to make him an eternal martyr. Thousands would rise up to take his place. In another year, we would face another round of terrorism, probably much worse even than this one.
I heard the murmurs then... "Fucking terrorist"... and one lady in the front row who looked to be about 70 called out... "Oh, WAAAAAH! You crybaby Liberal!"
I looked down at her and said... "Yes, I cry for those who have died in this latest "war", don't you? Or do you believe that hatred and revenge is what should fuel our resolve?"
As usual, rational talk shut her up long enough for me to continue...
"I say there is another way. In the short term, we must protect ourselves from those who already hate us. This means increased security and better intelligence. I firmly believe Congress should deny any funds for "Star Wars" until such time as the Executive Branch could show that they are doing all possible research on the detection and interception of weapons of mass destruction entering the country clandestinely (a far greater threat than ballistic missiles). There are lots of steps which can be taken to increase security without detracting from civil rights. But in the long term, we must change our policies to stop causing the fear and hatred which creates new terrorists. Becoming independent of foreign oil through conservation, energy efficiency, production of energy from renewable sources, and a transition to non-polluting transportation will allow us to adopt a more rational policy toward the Middle East. The vast majority of Arabs and Muslims are good, peaceful people. But enough of them, in their desperation and anger and fear, have turned first to Arafat and now to bin Laden to relieve their misery. Remove the desperation, give them some hope, and support for terrorism will evaporate. At that point bin Laden will be forced to abandon terrorism (as has Arafat... especially since he died) or be treated like a common criminal. Either way, he and his money cease to be a threat. We CAN have security ... or we can have revenge. We cannot have both."
Well, I was met with a stony silence until I turned to walk off the stage... then the booing started. It continued to increase as I made my way to the door, flanked by my two large friends. As I reached the door I turned back to the room one final time and the room quieted for a moment. I figured I should leave them confused so I gave them a quotation to think about...
I said loudly... "Abraham Lincoln once said... 'America will never be destroyed from the outside. If we falter and lose our freedoms, it will be because we destroyed ourselves."
And I turned and walked out... naturally, of course, they were no wiser.
I'm just sayin'...
Gary Gordon has written comedy for several performers, satire for a few publications,
and Rants and Original stories for several writing lists.
---
