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A Letter of Apology to My Grandson
http://www.tomdispatch.com/post/175986/tomgram%3A_engelhardt%2C_the_future_foreseen_%28and_not%29/#moreSNIP######
"The Future Foreseen
Back in 2001, before I even imagined a grandson in my life, I had one of those moments (and wish I hadnt). It was sometime just after the 9/11 attacks when, nationwide, Americans were still engaged in endless rites in which we repeatedly elevated ourselves to the status of the foremost victims on the planet, the only ones that mattered. In those months, you might say, we made ourselves into Earths indispensible or exceptional victims.
In that extended moment of national mourning (combined with fear bordering on hysteria), the Bush administration geared up to launch its revenge-fueled global wars, while money started pouring into the national security state in a historically unprecedented way. It was a time when the previously un-American word homeland was being attached to what would become a second defense department, secrecy was descending like a blanket on the government, torture was morphing into the enhancement of the week in the White House, assassination was about to become a focus (later an obsession) of the executive branch -- and surveillance? Dont even get me started on the massively redundant domestic and global surveillance state that would soon be built on outright illegalities and rubber-stamp legalities of every sort.
In October 2001, I had no way of grasping most of that, but it didn't matter. I peered into the future and just knew -- and what I knew chilled me to the bone. I had mobilized decades earlier as part of the antiwar movement of the Vietnam era, which was in its own way a terrible time, but when I looked at where our country seemed to be heading, as the president promised to kick some ass globally and American bombs began to fall on Afghanistan, I had no doubt that this was going to be the worst era of my life."
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A Letter of Apology to My Grandson (Original Post)
Iwillnevergiveup
Apr 2015
OP
I think this country is headed for fascism, a hard right religious based theocratic rule.
blkmusclmachine
Apr 2015
#2
Pic: http://images.sodahead.com/polls/002401123/332177312_americanfacism_answer_3_xlarge.jpeg
blkmusclmachine
Apr 2015
#3
Iwillnevergiveup
(9,298 posts)1. Like me and a few of my friends, Tom Engelhardt
is a relatively older grandfather. Many of us agree with his sentiments and share his experiences on varying levels. Looking at the wonder of my 3 year-old grandson, I hold out hope for his and all grandchildrens' futures.
blkmusclmachine
(16,149 posts)2. I think this country is headed for fascism, a hard right religious based theocratic rule.
blkmusclmachine
(16,149 posts)3. Pic: http://images.sodahead.com/polls/002401123/332177312_americanfacism_answer_3_xlarge.jpeg
Comments are my own.