Shut Up And Listen 54

“The price of freedom is high, but it is never too high . . . Whatever it takes to defend the liberty of America, this administration will support.”—US President George W. Bush, speaking of the proposed increase of 48 billion dollars to military spending.

Democracy Is Responsible For Richard Nixon, So It Must Die!
I planned this column a while back. Three weeks or so, I think, but over those weeks, what I planned to write has either become irrelevant or I forgot it. I hate it when that happens. Two other columns that I really felt inspired to do popped up, and pushed this one aside, which is a shame. Hopefully, I can still work up a little of the old anger.
	Bush is a fucking moron.
	There, I said it. Happy? Seriously. Anyone who considers nuclear weapons a viable option is dumber than a toaster. It’s a weapon that guarantees you lose. The odds of you surviving a nuclear attack, even one on the other side of the planet, is low. So you don’t die from the blast, the fallout and nuclear winter will get you. I wasn’t aware that the President was suicidal. Maybe now he can be removed for having a mental problem.
	“This just in: President Bush and most of his cabinet removed from their positions for being suicidal.”
	This leads me to the idea of democracy and how it really isn’t that good. Sure, it’s the best system of government the world has seen so far, but what does that really mean? How hard is it to find a system better than being led by one person with absolute power who can’t be kicked out without violence? Being better than shit doesn’t mean you’re gold.
	Look at who are the leaders of all these democracies. Do you really want these people solving world problems? Are they really the best people for the job? Like with most systems of government, democracy sucks, but people seem to think it’s the best that we’ll ever see.
	How good is a system that allows a man with George Bush’s intelligence to have the power to launch nukes?
	The military commander in chief is a guy who was kept out of military service by his rich daddy. Bush served in one of those rich kid units that never does anything more than get drunk on Saturday night.
	Clinton wasn’t much better either. Nor the first Bush. Or Reagan. Or, god almighty, Richard fucking Nixon. Democracy allowed that man to be President. That should be enough to make a person at least rethink the idea a little.
	Now, this isn’t my way of promoting any other system as better, because there isn’t. Yet. I just wish people would stop settling. That’s what America has done. It has settled so far into their democratic rut that the mere mention that democracy isn’t as good as it’s been made out to be will prompt attacks of various kinds. Remember the McCarthy years?
	America is also getting to the point where they think their way of life is totally and utterly superior to everyone else’s that they’re going to expand soon. It’s already begun in Afghanistan. Remember how when kicking the Taliban out, there were very few military deaths as the people were behind them? And how many soldiers have died since? That’s because the new government is being supported by US force. A nice little puppet regime.
	All hail the Empire Of America!
	Wow, I guess I had some things to say after all.

War On The Church
How any Catholic person can go to church with a clear conscience is beyond me.
	The Church has done nothing to stop the priests who sexually abuse children. No, all they do is move them somewhere else and give the family of the victim some money to make them think that the problem is being taken care of. It hadn’t been until about a week ago they actually did anything that showed a hint of progress.
	But those who still go to a Catholic church are essentially saying they support the Church in what it does. Belief is one thing, but THEY ALLOW CHILD MOLESTORS TO GO FREE AND DO IT AGAIN. Worship your god in your house or with friends, it won’t change your beliefs, but it will send a message to the higher-ups.
	And if there’s no action from the Church, I believe the next logical step would be global sanctions on Vatican City. The global community should be pressing this independent state to do something.
	My dad has an interesting theory as to why no priests have been charged yet: diplomatic immunity. Maybe Vatican City gives its priests diplomatic immunity. Something worth looking into.
	I despise how this is all swept under the rug just because some church is involved. So what. I’m at the point where any belief system that allows others to be injured should be stamped out. What kind of world do we live in where the excuse of “it’s my beliefs” allows this sort of shit to continue? There are people dying because of some fucked up beliefs. There are adults who will bear the scars of being sexually abused for life and having the abuser not punished because of some fucked up beliefs.
	Remember, if you’re sorry, god will forgive you.
	Call me intolerant all you want, but my beliefs have ever called for someone to be killed, or to allow child molesters to go unpunished.