"America, as we know it, would crumble"

I threw a "hypothetical" out to a *gwb voting friend last night at a stock theatre playhouse. The play was fairly critical of * and the war. During intermission, I ran into a guy I used to do tech work with, and he was about to leave without staying for the second act.

He had a green day shirt on - one of my favorite bands - so we started talking about American Idiot. After I mentioned seeing them on Letterman with Kerry last fall, he wrinkled his face and wondered how they could go on a show with that loser. Then I realized he liked the music but had no clue about the lyrics - he was a GWB support, Iraq war praising RWer - a "proud american" he said.



SO I said - "What would happen if it were ever revealed - just a "hypothetical here" - that * stole the election by massive fraud, he lied about Iraq purposefully to get oil, gwb was impeached, and many of his clan were jailed - what would happen?"

He said. "America, as we know it, would crumble - The world looks to the USA as a beacon of justice and democracy - all that would crumble and the world would be in chaos"

Whoa . . . we wouldn't want that now, would we!

At the moment, the world views America as a purveyor of torture and death. An Italian friend of mine said that in Europe, they used to think Bush was just an idiot. Now they think he's psychotic. Which is terrifying, of course, given America's vast military power.

:)

We may have committed insufficient manpower to conducting effective anti-insurgent warfare in a country of 26 million people, but it's worth remembering that single nuclear missile sub packs enough firepower to effectively destroy an entire continent.

the repug was wrong on this too. his world would be the only world that would crumble.

His personal world, with all its denial and delusions, would crumble.

That's why they cling to it so fiercely and defend it so irrationally.

Everyone else already knows those very things to be true.

Cognitive dissonance.

It's his OWN rightwing vision of the world that would crumble. And he knows deep down that his belief system is a fragile house of cards.

IMHO.

Edit: What you said Catzies. I didn't see your post before I posted.

at all. We certainly don't here in Europe and never have. That is an arrogant view by your friend and is the regular myth-making of the uniqueness and exceptionalism of America. "Land of the free and home of the brave" and all that is jingoistic hubris nonsense of which all countries have their own patriotic equivelant.

That is the arrogance which is so annoying to non-Americans, your friends assertion that the world would crumble and be in chaos is almost hilarious.

Of course it won't, the world is worse of because everyone outside America knows whats going on. America is the worlds superpower there is no denying that, but beacon of justice it ain't and never will be.

Small countries in the pocket of America may take their lead from american actions slightly however, thats why its worse that Bush isn't revealed. As he is encouraging torture, oppression, and in the future probably pre-emptive invasions.

Your friend should get out more, and not just his state. His view of America as exceptional and his view of the world as Americas backyard is deluded and irritating.

But American exceptionalism is the intellectual cornerstone of neo-con thought, such as it is. Arrogance is their stock in trade.

I think the world would welcome it as a breath of fresh air. Superpowers should be held to a high standard and we have failed miserable....just ask Amnesty International.

but doesn't know American Idiot is about the RW numbskulls, sociopaths, and bigots...well, what more needs to be said -he's an American IDIOT!

I had to hold back on those words last night.
I wanted to look at him and say, "YOU"RE IT!!!! DUDE . . WAKE UP!"

Why we must lose this war

- Gwynne Dyer isn’t exactly a wimp. has served in three navies — ours, Canada’s and Great Britain’s. He has university degrees from all three countries too, and a Ph.D. in military and Middle Eastern history. During the 1980s, he produced and narrated the best documentary series about the nature of war that I’ve ever seen.

And here’s what he says about what we are doing:

“The United States needs to lose the war in Iraq as soon as possible. Even more urgently, the whole world needs the United States to lose the war in Iraq. What is at stake now is the way we run the world for the next generation or more, and really bad things will happen if we get it wrong.”

http://207.44.245.159/article8077.htm

Maybe the shirt was a label instead of a fashion statement