November 2nd
An American friend of mine today asked me to pray. Something I don’t do very often, but it is something that I think about a great deal and take seriously. You see, recently I have been following the U.S. elections and listening to all of the rhetoric: Bush said this, Kerry said that, the polls show Kerry is behind, the polls say Bush is behind etc, ad nauseum.
And I have seen all of the documentaries. I saw Michael Moores fascinating ‘Fahrenheit 9/11′ and the compelling “Fourth World War” by Big Noise Films, and I had become increasingly convinced that there was something wrong in the White house. I felt, and my friend agreed, that God should get involved on November 2nd, and do what is best for the world and get those war-loving bastards out. In short, I was turning into a good liberal.
But then I was asked to pray. And now everything has changed.
You see, my friend wants me to send up a prayer for regime change in the United States, in other words to pray for God to get rid of George W. Bush. The thinking is that if Bush goes and there is a saner man in the White House, then the colonization of Iraq can stop, the international bullying will cease and we can get our good friend ‘the United States’ back. The more that I thought about this though, the more I realized that it is fundamentally flawed thinking.
The United States has been pursuing its Imperialistic, neo-colonial policies for decades now. And regardless who wins the election in November, that policy is not going to change. Oh, yes they may tweak it this way or that way, but the essence of it has remained amazingly consistent since the second World War. I now think that this entire election campaign is nothing more than smokescreen that prevents us from seeing the truth, from seeing who or what the real enemy is. George Bush is a mask, and no matter who wins their election the enemy is still there. The president of the most powerful nation on earth is only a figure head, regardless of his influence and the power that his office weilds there is nothing that he can initiate save a thermo-nuclear war that will change anything on this planet. Things are happening that are so much larger than any one U.S. president can ever hope to be.
In fact I think George W. has done the world a favor. He has taken the shine off of the United States public persona. But bless his heart, he has shown the world what the US and all of “western civilization” really are. Arrogant bullies with the biggest guns on the playground. He has caused many people in the world to wake up and see the truth. That while we were sleeping and dreaming “Hollywood” imagery and the mythical “American Dream”, we were being raped. Because of George W. Bush millions of people, the world over have mobilized and have demonstrated against the US. The United States is now probably, the world’s most hated country. The foreign policy of the US is viewed as imperialist and anti-democratic. And to all this furor, I now say, “finally”.
If Kerry is voted in, maybe we will forget that the real problem isn’t a president who may only be in office for 8 years at most, maybe we will forget the anger that burns our bellies now. Maybe we will be lured to sleep by the pretty image and empty rhetoric. Maybe we will be re-deceived by the façade. Maybe we will stop fighting against capitalism, because maybe then we may have a “good” job, a nice house. Maybe then we will be fat. Lord don’t let us forget.
So now I’ve been asked to pray. And since I always take prayer seriously, I think that I’ll pray for Bush to win on November 2nd. God knows it doesn’t change a damn thing about that country or what it really stands for. It will only keep the rest of us angry. And that, as God probably already knows, is a good thing.