Family Values

If Bush is indeed the "strong father figure" some people seem to think America needs then surely the U.S. mainstream media is the mommy. Stifling dissent or trivializing it. Spanking wayward children who might actually speak critically of the administration or war or foreign policy in general or secrecy. Is the UN then the little lap dog that is praised when worthy and punished and sent away to cower in the corner when it dares act up? Is the rest of the administration the in laws who really have the power and know when to pull the strings to secure our dancing monkey politics?

I've been revisiting a book of comics by Dr. Seuss called "Dr. Seuss goes to war" which critiques the US for its isolationist stance and especially for its own racism. Doing so made me think about the fact that more often than not the most critical work you'll read in most mainstream newspapers and magazines comes not from the op-eds nor from the main articles but from the cartoons/comics and caricatures. I cringed when I heard Bush said that those who voted for him gave him "the political capital" to do what he felt needed to be done. I cringed at his swearing in ceremony. None of this has to do with him "winning" but rather, because his words and his actions do not mirror my values or my "morality." I see no value or morality in bombing hospitals. I see no morality or value or EXCUSE in torturing Muslim men. I see no morality or value in discriminating against gays and lesbians or anyone for that matter. I see no value or morality in bombing people into democracy. I have a family. I love them very much and when I think about what our values are, I DO NOT for even half a second see them echoed in anything this administration does or says or what the media tries to sell. I also cannot see how others can find value or morality in such hypocrisy. Security can never come from oppressing others or from lies and fear. The film "The Village" offers a great example of this and I highly recommend it. Also, check out the film "Hijacking Catastrophe" by the Media Education Foundation. I really believe you have to find the real news and the very real hope that does not cloak itself in rhetoric stolen from the Left but is instead advocacy of truly progressive views. The real news. The real family values. Ask yourself, does this administration's actions really speak for you or for the America you belong to? Is torture, pre-emptive war, playground politics and the crafting and use of a vocabulary of exemption truly American? Is exploitation, occupation and oppression part of your values as an American? If not, then please stand up and let your voice be heard!