Cartoons and More

“I have no doubt that Iran and Syria have gone out of their way to inflame sentiments and have used it for their own purposes. The world ought to call them on it.” These are the words of Condoleezza Rice, referring to the rage over the cartoons depicting the Prophet Muhammad in less than proper light. Hmmmm, Iran and Syria. An interesting choice of countries to condemn, considering that violence is occurring all over the world in protest of these cartoons.

We just can’t help ourselves. We insist upon maintaining the facade of a country to be taken seriously. The truth is obvious to everyone who we choose to condemn and those that we choose as friends, even obvious to some of us. Our grip on power, our credibility, and our status as a superpower is slipping away like a runaway truck going down a mountainside. And, if throwing Iran into the drumbeat for war wasn’t enough, we must now insert Syria into the equation.

We say that we want a Diplomatic solution in the stare down with Iran. Sound familiar? It should. It was the same thing that we said about Iraq, long after we planned the invasion of their sovereign land. Now, as Iran laughs in our face while we make idle threats that can’t be backed up, we start the same rhetoric with Syria. Why not call out Denmark, Norway, or one of the many European countries where similar demonstrations are being carried out? Are there not people there who are “inflaming sentiments?” Or, is it not to our advantage to do so?

Maybe it’s time that the world calls out the US on a few things. Maybe Rice should look in the mirror and see exactly what her country, the United States of America, has done to “inflame sentiments” to “use for their own purposes.” Like, for instance Iraq, and the presence of weapons of mass destruction that existed only in the mind of her boss and his henchmen. Or, when looking at the Iran situation, asking for sanctions, thus putting the world on the cusp of WWIII. Maybe it’s time that Rice, Boosh and the rest be quiet and listen for once, instead of playing the role of the bully of the world. The world is not ours to rule, nor is it our position to solve or even stick our nose in every crisis that pops up. Maybe we should leave that to Dr. Phil and Oprah. After all, they are the ones that educate our masses.

Perhaps Booshco should heed the words of Sheik Hassan Nasrallah, the leader of Hezbollah. He said, “Defending the Prophet should continue worldwide. Let Condoleezza Rice, Boosh, and all the tyrants shut up: We are a nation that can’t forgive, be silent or ease up when they insult our prophet and our sacred values…..Today we are defending the dignity of our Prophet with a word, a demonstration, but let George Boosh and the arrogant world know that if we have to…we will defend our prophet with our blood, not our voices.”

But, we can’t help ourselves. Because of that, we in America are soon to learn a lesson that I first learned, probably in kindergarten. A lesson that we have obviously forgotten. That lesson is this. The world is round, and you had better not dish it out if you can’t take it. We have dished it out for so long, used it for our own purposes for so long, that we now think we own it.

But, we don’t. It won’t last, can’t last. The stars are aligning, and they are not aligning in our favor. We will soon find out that the gig is up, and when we do, a lot of people are going to be hurt. A lot of people are also going to die. We are about to pay for our prior actions, and pay dearly. Every country in the world, except Canada, has turned on us. Canada would likely leave us as well, but there is nowhere for them to go. So, they too, will pay for the sins of America.

Boosh knows we are through, as should every thinking citizen in America. If only they took the time to think. If only they spent a little less time with Dr. Phil and Oprah. We could mitigate the damage somewhat. We could admit defeat, confess our sins, and be forgiven by much of the world. And, most of the world would forgive. Look at the outpouring of support we received after 9/11. Much of that support came from countries that we have abused in the past, countries that don’t really like us very much. But they reached out to us in our time of need, and gave what little they could, in spite of our treatment of them. The human race is by nature a forgiving race, and we could salvage a lot by just stopping the madness. But we won’t, because we can’t. It's just not in us to admit that we are wrong. We will have to learn the lesson the hard way. As the Sheik implied, we are simply too damned arrogant.

Cyclone