The War on Americanism

Published on Monday, January 30, 2006 by CommonDreams.org

by David Michael Green

Forget the war on terrorism. The president is now engaged in a full-blown war on Americanism. Ridiculous? Unthinkable? The idea that an American president could epitomize anti-Americanism is certainly counterintuitive. But it’s a lot less shocking if we consider just what defines this country’s core values. And if that list includes such essentials as freedom, responsibility, justice, humanity, respect and fairness – and doesn’t it? – if that’s what it means to be American, then George Bush is indeed at war with Americanism. Each new revelation forces patriotic Americans to reconsider how much of ourselves – our liberties, our reputation, our dignity – have now been sacrificed on the alter of the Bush presidency. Torture, wiretaps, planted news stories, secret prisons, one unmasked war justification after another – each week brings fresh outrages. This country faces some very real threats, but must we give up everything that makes America America in order to live safely within our borders? As it turns out, that’s a false choice anyhow, since even our security has been diminished by George Bush. The 9/11 Commission has given him flunking grades for his preparations against another attack. Meanwhile, he admits a breathtaking disinterest in Osama bin Laden (the guy who did 9/11, after all), literally saying “I am truly not that concerned about him” and “I don't really think about him very much”. He has been similarly unconcerned about North Korean nuclear proliferation on his watch, Hurricane Katrina, and the still unsolved anthrax case. Add these to his Iraq obsession, which has severely diminished our military, and American security has actually lessened. For this, we’ve given up two centuries worth of proud honor and traditions? For this, George Bush has traded away so much of what makes this country great that his presidency can only be described as a war on Americanism. Consider. Once, America stood as a proud beacon for human rights. Now we are known for the horrors of Abu Ghraib and Guantánamo, extraordinary rendition and torture. Once, we stood foursquare for the rule of law. Now we demolish inconvenient agreements we once promoted – the Geneva, Nonproliferation and ABM Treaties, the International Criminal Court – and thereby encourage others to follow suit. Once, America’s word was good. Today – after deceits ranging from WMD, to promised but withdrawn UN votes, to shameful lies about Pat Tillman’s death – we are distrusted. Once, America stood tall against colonialism. Today, with invasion excuses falling like dominoes, most of the world sees us as just another old-fashioned imperialist predator. Once, we stood for due process of law. Now our president creates his own prisons and courts and denies the accused long sacred rights – to habeas corpus, an attorney, a speedy trial judged by peers, knowledge of the crime charged, and more. Once, we were a model for civil liberties. Now, Mr. Bush authorizes himself to conduct illegal wiretaps on Americans while his government monitors everyone from vegans to Quakers, then snoops in libraries to see what we’re reading. Once, we stood for press freedom. Now our tax dollars pay to plant stories and buy off journalists, here and abroad, while our president plots to blow-up al Jazeera, all in the name of bringing freedom to the Mid-East. Once, we were a good neighbor. Today, our one-twentieth of world population produces one-fourth of global warming emissions, while the president scuttles the Kyoto Protocol. For all these reasons and others, world opinion of the United States has sunk precipitously under this radical president – as well it should, for this is not the America our Founders had in mind. And so we must ask, just what will be left of Americanism after George Bush is through with America? And, if the goal is not only preserving our lives, but also our way of life, just who is the true enemy of America and Americanism? Surely al Qaeda is. Too bad, therefore, that the president doesn’t think very much anymore about the folks who brutally attacked us on 9/11. Surely Saddam – who never attacked the United States nor even threatened it – was never such an enemy, however brutal a dictator he certainly was. But what of Mr. Bush himself? However counterintuitive, it is hard to reach but one conclusion about a president who has bankrupted America morally, fiscally, and militarily, who has alienated the world and deeply divided his own country, and who has trampled roughshod over our most sacred traditions and liberties, as if he were some sort of self-anointed king. Clearly, George Bush is at war with Americanism. David Michael Green is a professor of political science at Hofstra University in New York. He is delighted to receive readers' reactions to his articles (pscdmg@hofstra.edu), but regrets that time constraints do not always allow him to respond.