Tilted Forum Project Discussion Community - View Single Post - Failing to Learn from History; the Neocon's are Back

raveneye · 11-27-2005, 12:01 PM

Thanks for the post, Elphaba. I notice that nobody yet has made any attempt to refute any of the statements of fact in Blumenthal's article

His description drives home the point that the Bush presidency has many points of similarity to a religious cult. We have:

--a central authority figure who requires total, unquestioning loyalty; those who publicly question that authority are outed or vilified (e.g. you're either with us or you're with the terrorists);

--a set of assertions/beliefs that in turn are presented as absolute truth and are not subject to any debate whatsoever, regardless of the evidence against them and regardless of the possibility that they are empty of meaning (e.g. "we'll stay in Iraq until we get the job done", the two alternative sets of intelligence information maintained by Cheney; the use of intelligence as propaganda in the Iraq war runup, esp. in regard to the Iraq/AQ "connection");

--an attitude of existing and operating above any accountability, the idea that "we have Right on our side" therefore we are to be implicitly trusted in everything we do, we have no need to explain ourselves except in the most general terms; decisions are made largely in secret without essential input (e.g. the Harriet Miers nomination, many other examples).

Blumenthal's excellent article points out that the Nixon administration also showed many of these cult-like similarities (he could have included the quote "When the president does it, that means it's not illegal"), and many of these similarities were initiated or furthered by Cheney.

I think most Americans would view these attributes as negatives, as essentially un-American, as in conflict with the ideal of a democratic society thriving under free, open debate. I think we're finally reaching the "tipping point" as more folks become aware of these things, as indicated by the recent Republican vote to finally hold bush accountable for what is happening in Iraq.

As Winston Churchill said, "America can always be counted on to do the right thing -- after exhausting all the alternatives."

11-27-2005, 12:01 PM	#15 (permalink)
raveneye Born Against	Thanks for the post, Elphaba. I notice that nobody yet has made any attempt to refute any of the statements of fact in Blumenthal's article His description drives home the point that the Bush presidency has many points of similarity to a religious cult. We have: --a central authority figure who requires total, unquestioning loyalty; those who publicly question that authority are outed or vilified (e.g. you're either with us or you're with the terrorists); --a set of assertions/beliefs that in turn are presented as absolute truth and are not subject to any debate whatsoever, regardless of the evidence against them and regardless of the possibility that they are empty of meaning (e.g. "we'll stay in Iraq until we get the job done", the two alternative sets of intelligence information maintained by Cheney; the use of intelligence as propaganda in the Iraq war runup, esp. in regard to the Iraq/AQ "connection"); --an attitude of existing and operating above any accountability, the idea that "we have Right on our side" therefore we are to be implicitly trusted in everything we do, we have no need to explain ourselves except in the most general terms; decisions are made largely in secret without essential input (e.g. the Harriet Miers nomination, many other examples). Blumenthal's excellent article points out that the Nixon administration also showed many of these cult-like similarities (he could have included the quote "When the president does it, that means it's not illegal"), and many of these similarities were initiated or furthered by Cheney. I think most Americans would view these attributes as negatives, as essentially un-American, as in conflict with the ideal of a democratic society thriving under free, open debate. I think we're finally reaching the "tipping point" as more folks become aware of these things, as indicated by the recent Republican vote to finally hold bush accountable for what is happening in Iraq. As Winston Churchill said, "America can always be counted on to do the right thing -- after exhausting all the alternatives." Last edited by raveneye; 11-27-2005 at 12:43 PM.. Reason: oops, I had Hersh on the brain!