Canadian Deconstruction

My brother-in-law sent this to my wife who then passed it along to me. I thought it might be interesting to get your comments. First, the "open letter" from Canada:

Americans Re-Elect George W. Bush

George Bush, the most unpopular American President in history outside of the United States, has been re-elected. His re-election says something about the intelligence of the majority of Americans, about American arrogance, about American insularity, and America's obvious desire to openly claim it's place in the pantheon of imperial powers.

(Hey! We are not intelligent! I mean...no, wait! We are so intelligent! Just who does he think he is?)

How are those of us outside of the United States supposed to react to this news? Prior to 9/11, numerous American administrations were responsible for the murder of hundreds of thousands of people in various regions of the world for a variety of pro-American reasons. Freedom was often claimed as the primary reason, which was, of course, one of the justifications given for the invasion of Iraq. It is, I might add, the only justification left of those initially given, as no weapons of mass destruction were found and no connection between Iraq and 9/11 ever existed. Of course, the majority of Americans are completely unfamiliar with the history of their own foreign policy actions, so one can see why they tend to be comfortable living with lies and the liars who tell them.

(He might react as he reacted to any other re-election of an incumbent President in the past. As far as freedom being "the only justification left," I would invite him to read something I've found useful as a reminder of just why we're there. As to "living with lies and the liars who tell them," c'est la vie, n'est-ce pas? Although it's pretty clear that he means that there are some pretty spectacular liars in the U.S., perhaps more spectacular than anywhere else ever in all of recorded human history.)

Never the less, nearly 3,000 Americans died on September 11th, an event that allowed a group of individuals to implement one of the most dangerous foreign policy platforms in US history. It also solidified a place in history for a President who has the deaths of 3,000 Americans to thank for rescuing him from historical obscurity. 9/11 outraged Americans, who simply couldn't believe that anyone in their right mind would attack such a peaceful, freedom loving country. This led to the blind stereotyping of an entire segment of the world's population, an entire religion, and influenced the American public to back a series of reckless military campaigns which have since cost the lives of 1000+ Americans, and will most likely result in the first military draft since the Vietnam era. (It matters little what President Bush said during stump speeches or the debates prior to the election).

(He has a point about the foreign policy being dangerous. But is it bad for the U.S.? That's the question. But that crack about the 3,000 deaths rescuing Bush from obscurity, hey! That's right out of the Clinton talking points!)

(I'm beginning to think that this guy is leading up to some spectacular conclusion.)

As a direct result of America's knee jerk reaction to lash out after 9/11, thousands of innocent Afghanis have lost their lives. Afghanistan remains in turmoil, governed by a man that was once an advisor to one of the largest oil companies in the US (and has his nose so far up the White House's ass that he might as well be a West Wing janitor). Of course, such realities don't deter idiotic American conservatives from blabbering on about how Afghanistan is now free.

(According to this guy, everything that the U.S. did after 9/11 is reprehensible, to say the least. I wonder if this guy would have gone to the U.N. and begged for help. And, gosh! He must not like conservatives very much.)

So is El Salvador, supposedly. Where did 60,000 Salvadorans go before that conclusion was reached? For that matter, how many Guatemalans died after the United States paid for and supported a coup so that they could oust a leader that had the audacity to place the needs of his people before those of an American company?

(I believe he's referring to the situations in Central America during the late 70s. He doesn't mention Nicaragua or Panama. I wonder why?)

Since the invasion of Iraq, some 16,000+ innocent Iraqis have been killed, (some 100,000 excess Iraqi deaths have occurred since the war began). Is the rest of the world therefore to believe that Iraqi lives are worth less than American lives?

(Um, I'm missing the connection between the 16,000 and the 100,000. Is he talking about heart disease? Traffic accidents? He sure sounds like he believes our efforts to put the clamps on terrorism world-wide after 9/11 were unjustified. What do you think? Does he really believe that we should have done nothing?)

If so, then what are Canadian lives worth?

The majority of the world believes the United States to be a greater threat to world security than terrorism. What does that say about the re-election of the man that is responsible for producing that opinion? I'm afraid, in the years to come, that Osama Bin Laden will be the least of America's worries.

(Now I know I'm dealing with someone a bit unhinged. I guess this guy feels that America should submit to terrorist attacks around the world and in our own country as, what? The price of doing business? I suppose he feels the same way about Israel's response to terrorism as he does about ours.)

What purpose does the US constitution serve when it protects the liberties of a nation that blindly supports the strong-arming of other people? What point is there in keeping up the illusion that the United States is a land that consists of people that love real freedom? If anything , it's a land in which self- interest rules. Indeed, the re-election of George Bush speaks volumes about the American character.

(Yep, he's not tracking here. If a country has no self-interests, it has no existence. And I suppose that the rights of people to kill 3,000 of our citizens in one fell swoop should be protected, too.)

Prior to this moment I held the American people apart from the actions of their government, believing that if they had the chance to reverse what has been done that they would. Unfortunately, I now find that difficult to do. My children will inherit a more dangerous world because of the outcome of this election. What am I to tell them when they ask why anyone would willingly support such a reckless, tepid, and bigoted man?

(He sure sounds like he believes that the deaths on 9/11 were our fault, as if we ourselves flew those planes into the towers and the Pentagon. "Reverse what has been done?" A very passive-voice kind of way to put it all.)

("Tepid?" Perhaps he should have said, "bloodless," or "calculating." "Tepid?")

The outcome of this election has made clear where the majority of the people of the United States stand. Arm in arm with conquest, greed, and selfish insularity. The rest of the world will pay the price for it. So how, exactly, should the rest of the world be feeling today? Like a target? Either you're with us or against us. Mr. Bush would do well to remember that it works both ways.

(When Bush said, "You're either with us or against us," he was clearly referring to countries that harbor terrorists or sponsor them. This guy clearly believes, as Kerry apparently did, that terrorism is a "nuisance.")

A Disenchanted Neighbour from the North