I always hate to actually use the "hell in a handbasket" phrase, cuz, you know, as bad as things are, they're very rarely uniquely bad in terms of history.
Perhaps they aren't right now, in terms of ages of civilizations.
But in terms of recent lifetimes...
I'm not in the US right now, so I can't fully appreciate the absolute horror most of my friends and family are expressing right now. I don't even get CNN here yet. Of course, I can imagine the horror, both because of the election down here (it seems two candidates for prefect -- mayor -- who just happen to be down in the polls are accusing the current prefect's party of vast campaign malfeasance. What I have yet to see is one, any, SINGLE shread of evidence in this, the second-to-last week before elections here), and because of how bad it was before I left, I can imagine how horribly intolerable it is now. Even NPR and BBC get less good (horrible) during election years.
Meanwhile, we join our heroes in Iraq, where there certainly is a most un-pretty how-dee-do.
A really good overall take on the coverage here on Slate.com. (my favorite, Today's Papers of course. I can't believe I used to not like this feature. Of course, it didn~t used to be this good, perhaps.)
Also, splendidly horrible stuff here (really, truly, breath-takingly horrible -- can we all take a deep breath now and stop calling the ACLU crazy commie alarmists?)*
Also, a link to a Fray post that is really good on its own merits, but should be read by everyone just for its use (creation?) of the phrase, "Bush and Cheney's Excellent Adventure".
However, I think if we've learned anything from Bush and Cheney's Excellent Adventure, it's that good intentions, once implemented, aren't necessarily in one's best interests. That is, bringing Democracy to Iraq through force doesn't, by definition, improve the lives of either Americans or Iraqis.
Rarely has the phrase "Read them, and weep" been truer.
-J
*No? Really? <...> Sigh. Yeah, I didn't think so.
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1 comment:
But as Dante said, there are multiple levels of hell- maybe the handbasket is currently poised at the 3rd level here in the US (I'm guessing- the 5 foot bush/cheney sign in my neighbor's yard may be skewing my perspective). I suspect it's lower in places like Haiti (hurricane damage + extreme poverty + unresponsive gov't =>> level 5-6?). Anyone held at Guantanamo Bay must certainly be experiencing level 8 (at a minimum).
One thing is clear- the handbasket is still descending- maybe the neocons plan to get off at the bottom, and then the rest of us can head back up....
carol
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