Go read the introduction from Jim Bovard's new book, Attention Deficit Democracy, posted at Lew Rockwell:
"Presidents have lied so much to us about foreign policy that they've established almost a common-law right to do so," history professor Leo Ribuffo observed in 1998. From John F. Kennedy lying about the Bay of Pigs debacle in Cuba; to Johnson lying about the Gulf of Tonkin resolution; to Richard Nixon lying about the secret bombing of Cambodia; to Jimmy Carter lying about the Shah of Iran being a progressive, enlightened ruler; to Ronald Reagan lying about terrorism and Iran-Contra; to George H. W. Bush lying about the justifications for the first Gulf War, entire generations have come of age since the ancient time when a president's power was constrained by a duty of candor to the public. ... The government is exploiting public dread to redefine the relation between rulers and the American people. White House Chief of Staff Andrew Card, in a talk to Republican National Convention delegates in September 2004, praised Bush's role as the protector of the nation and assured them that "this president sees America as we think about a 10-year-old child. I know as a parent I would sacrifice all for my children." Card's comment generated almost no controversy. Yet viewing Americans as young children needing protection makes a mockery of democracy. Is servility now the price of survival?
A 10 year old child? Doesn't all the hoopla about security at any price make sense now - especially in light of the other attitudes towards parenting that conservative Americans hold? No wonder we're being smothered by our security, being told it's for our own good: the protection offered by this government - or any, for that matter - is not a relationship founded on mutual respect of any sort.
One more excerpt:
People need defenses against democracies as well as tyrannies. The road to political ruin is paved with positive thinking. The issue is not whether democracy is good or evil, but that seeing democracy as an absolute good opens the gates to great evil. Because of Clinton's and Bush's invocations of democracy to consecrate their power and sanctify foreign aggression, it is vital to analyze democracy now. At this point, the de facto American theory of government consists of trusting to the good intentions of those who hold nearly boundless power over us, trusting that they will not violate any laws that don't really need violating, that they won't bomb any foreign countries that don't really need bombing, and that they won't torture anyone who doesn't really need torturing. And if they do violate laws, bomb foreigners, and torture innocents -- then it is all harmless errors and folks should just move along because there is nothing to see here. This book examines the rising ignorance of the electorate, the fearmongering tactics of the 2004 and other presidential campaigns, the profusion of lying and how it fundamentally changes candidates' relation to citizens, the ways in which contemporary elections are degenerating into a tawdry trading of votes for handouts and subservience, and the current Messianic Democracy push. The ongoing torture scandal will be considered in depth as the arch-example of what happens when the government is permitted to grant itself absolute power, when "due process" consists of nothing more than long-delayed coroners' inquests. We will briefly consider popular delusions on the inevitability of democracy and the inevitability of democracies keeping the peace. Finally, we will look at some reforms that can curb politicians' damage and recapture the blessings of representative government for ourselves and posterity.
I should be receiving this book in the mail by the end of the week. I hope it inspires some good writing.
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