Peace is Hell

Radiofree West Hartford ^ | April 10, 2003 | Wendy McElroy

[ddodd3329]

While discussion buzzes about a post-Saddam Iraq, few people are talking about a post-Saddam United States even though we should be.

Why? Because the political rifts in our society may be as difficult to deal with as the ones with the Arab world, and they hit closer to home. We need a better approach for dealing with dissent and diversity.

The war in Iraq creates a sense of unity, with Gallup Polls showing that Bush's overall job approval rating rose to 71 percent after the conflict began, up 13 points from the pre-war level of 58 percent.

Historically, however, support for post-war administrations decline. This is especially true during hard economic times and when society had been deeply divided before war.

The polarization of politics lies under the surface. While hundreds of thousands take to the streets across North America to protest the war, even larger numbers participate in the fighting in some manner. TV pundits from the left and right scream at each other and at their guests about every conceivable issue. Democrats still mutter about hanging chads and stolen elections. Another election nears.

The divisions are more pervasive than pro- or anti-war, left or right, Republican or Democrat. They are rooted in the way our society has come to approach diversity and disagreement. Namely, it is not to be tolerated. Disagreement is an indication of "evil" motives and the person disagreeing should be reviled and, then, silenced...

[konaice]

The article has a lot less to say than it pretends.

Yawn....

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[Nick Danger]

The article has a lot less to say than it pretends.

I dunno, I thought it was almost profound in terms of her willingness to dress up a kind of nonchalant and tired defeatism as some sort of noble effort to reduce conflict.

She was gonna tear into Martha Burk over the Masters Tournament nonsense, but then realized that she would just be contributing to the conflict. Far better, it seemed to her, to cluck about diversity and peace, leaving Martha to continue her attacks.

I read it, I thought about it, and I finally concluded that I could not distinguish her position from rolling over and dying so as to avoid harsh rhetoric from those who wish to control her life.