John and Joan Public have been reduced to having to beg the World to do the right thing. We see it daily in the Newspapers, on the TV and the Blogs. We see it in America, Germany, Darfur, Iraq, and every other country. It's a pitiful statement on the world and it's leaders. Pitiful because for the most parts, all those pleas go ignored.
Just this week several groups of people got together to plea with the German Courts to reinstate the War Crimes charges against Rumsfeld. One of the main reasons they give for having to make those pleas ?
While the primary obligation to investigate and prosecute war crimes committed by US officials rests with the US government, it is abundantly clear by now that no such prosecutions will be brought in the United States against higher-ups in the chain of command. Furthermore, the Bush administration has refused to join the International Criminal Court, precisely to shield its citizens from prosecution in that court. This explains our resort to Germany's universal jurisdiction law in the present case.
The Rumsfeld case is just one example of a important issue entrusted to the Governments of the world. Entrusted, now there is a word we might as well toss away. Is there anyone left that will do the right thing for the public good ? Someone that won't worry about the politics, and hurt feelings, that will let the chips fall where they are suppose to ?
Last year we had our Democratic leaders cheering us on, swearing they would do the right thing if they were put back in power. They asked us to do all the hard work it would take to place them there. Some of them wrote books, and passed around petitions. Some made promises to bring Impeachment charges, and or end the war in Iraq. Today, once again we a reduced to having to beg them to do their job, or keep their promises. Rep. Conyers is a prime example of this. Today he wrote a diary here, but no where in it or the last couple he has wrote sound anything like the ones before the elections where he gave his word to bring Impeachment charges. Even worse in my opinion is those that have chosen to fawn over him instead of asking him to keep his word. What has happen that has reduced us to this point? Our Founding Fathers would never of acted this way. Rep. Conyer is just one of many, too many easy leaders to pick on.
Harry Reid recently admitted they lead us on by making promises they couldn't or wouldn't keep about ending the war. Once again, some are quick to forgive, some are hopeful that sooner or later it will all work out, and some of us just plain give up. There are a couple more groups of people out there still. Those are the ones I look up to. The people that make up the groups like the Center for Constitutional Rights (CCR, New York), the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH, Paris), and the Republican Attorneys’ Association (RAV, Berlin), people around the world that are unwilling to give up, and or just go quietly away.
The above mentioned three groups have gone back to the courts in Germany and ask them to do the job they were given. The trying of War Criminals. There are very strong reasons for them pursue such requests, mainly because if they don't it seems no one else will. The public has become almost apathic to it's own lack of power to change the criminal behavior of it's leaders. For good reason. When we, who call ourselves activists, rollover when some like John Conyers or Harry Reid just say they had to change their minds or decided in wasn't politically advantageous to keep the promises they made, why should the public be any different?
Al Gore talks about a assault on reason, and yet, even he won't stand up for Impeachment, mainly because he believes there is not enough time left for it to make a difference. I don't believe that is the reason we need to try Rumsfeld, who is already gone or Impeach Bush and Cheney. We need to do it because it is the right thing to do. What the world has a right to expect us to do.
The State Dept has just released a report on it's new Center for Propaganda, tho that is not what they named it. Here is a bit of info on them you should know.
U.S. officials said the Counterterrorism Communications Center, now being formed at the State Department and staffed heavily with military and intelligence officers, will provide a rapid response to propaganda by U.S. adversaries.
It will develop messages "to undermine and marginalize extremist ideology and propaganda" and "aggressively rebut and efficiently respond to actions and statements by terrorist groups and leaders across the world."
Sounds like a damn good idea right ? The purpose of this group is to " intended to counter the steep decline in America's global image ". The right way to do that would be to restore the worlds faith in our rule of law and our moral stance on right and wrong. In the recently released 34 page report on how they plan on doing the job they had this to say.
The report says the United States should "underscore our commitment to freedom, human rights and the dignity and equality of every human being."
The critics, people like you and me, and the public have a different take on how to do this.
"From a public diplomacy standpoint, I don't know how you come out and talk about all the stuff you do, for human rights, to support democracy. . . . When people hear that, they stop and say, `What about Abu Ghraib? What about Guantanamo?" said Price Floyd, who was the State Department's director of media affairs until earlier this year.
"I almost feel sorry" for the Bush administration, said Floyd, who said he was aware of the strategy document, but hadn't seen it. "It's almost too late. ... The opinion of the world is set."
After sitting at my keyboard for a while wondering where this rant was meant to end up, I'm at a loss. Is it too late ? I'm damn sick and tired of waiting for people to do the right thing. I don't believe we should have to beg anyone to use common sense, disregard the politics, and cronys, and punish the murders and thieves and liars. To help set the world right is something given to everyone to do, yet only a few can truly make it happen. It's become our job to make sure they do theirs. It's time we stop asking and evening begging them to do what is right, but it's time we demand it.
There are Strikes and Moratoriums coming up, Marches and protests to become involved in, phone calls and letters to write. Time to renew our pledges to ourselves and those that can't help themselves and do whatever it takes. Not just when it's easy, or won't cause trouble, but when it's hard, costly, and even inconvenient. Careful tho someone might call you a troll and tell you you just don't understand how thing works. Just remind them that it is exactly because you do know how things works, that is why you are dong or saying what it is that needs said or done.
Hereby endth this rant, plea, begging, and etc.
Update : It's stuff like this. We KNOW what the right thing to do is, yet for some kind of political bullshit reason I'm willing to bet that this Spakovsky guy gets his post on the FEC.
The realpolitik problem with that is that the two-party machines traditionally stack the F.E.C. with loyal mediocrities and avoid confronting each other’s bad apples. Making it worse, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid has nominated a hometown buddy and party ally to the commission and isn’t eager to jeopardize his own choice. But that’s no reason to look the other way when it comes to Mr. Spakovsky’s obvious unfitness for the job.
http://www.nytimes.com/...
This shouldn't even be issue we have to think about. It's a no-brainer, yet, well you know what I mean...
Crossposted at Daily Kos
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