[Scribbler1]

The problem is in your use of the word WE, for starters. This is what it boils down to, WE (meaning the majority of Americans) have been allowing or ignoring things like this for as far back as I can recall. The funny thing is, at the end of the day, I don't really blame the government totally for what is happening (in this case, Iraq) as the politicians will do what they are ALLOWED to do! This is simple human nature. Too many people have fallen for the misguided belief that the people we put in power are somehow BETTER than us (else, why would they BE there, right?). We put them there to take care of us so we don't have to worry about the complex and difficult business of government. I think anyone over the age of 50 can remember how much simpler for the average American those earlier days were. We put the people in power and let them do their thing, seure in the knowledge that they were acting in our best interests, but things changed. TPTB soon realized how much you can get away with when the people abrogate their responsibilities as overseers.

I hate to say it, but I believe the bulk of the blame for Iraq (improper military adventures), Enron-style scandals (improper business practices by huge corporations), poor education and crime, for example, rests primarily with the people and NOT the government.

We have become a feel-good, immediate gratification and politically lazy society. But most of all we are a stupid society. We value style over substance and regard the slogan above the underlying reality. We are a NIMBY driven people who don't worry about what happens on the other side of our fences and would rather hear our elected Mommy and Daddy tell us everything is all right than worry about the real world.

The politicians have seen this degenerative mindset developing for a long time and have actually hastened the decline with the laws of believable lies and plausible deniability. The inept, self serving and corrupt have relied on our ability to absorb the IMMEDIATE and conveniently forget yesterday. In the Nixon administration, Ron Ziegler's remark (when faced with a previous lie) that the previous statement was "inoperative", and getting away with it was more telling (and damning to society) than we ever realized.

Politicians feed on power and will do anything to get and keep it. The fact that we are so easily lied to make their job so much easier and we are a willing audience. Create crime with moronic and un realistic drug laws, start wars with no defensible reason or plan, encourage and defend oppressive corporate policy, and when caught just pull a P.T. Barnum and toss out a few lies and slogans.

Stupidity and apathy are our trademarks, and political partisanship is our refuge. Partisan politics is the other side of this nasty little coin. Great examples of sheep herding are radio host Mike Gallager and shrew about town Ann Coulter (yes, there are smear artists on the left as well, but I hate these two the most). If you listen to these people carefully, you will come away with the unmistakable feeling that Liberals are not only the CAUSE of every one of our problems, but also are incapable of and never have had a single good idea about ANYTHING! That's BS of course, but it sure plays well to their particular audience. The other side of the coin is that Conservatives are the cause of...etc.

The bottom line is that we have made our bed of expediency and now have to lie in it. TPTB merely take as much as we GIVE them and frankly, I don't have a clue as to how to fix this. Actually, I'm very glad I don't have the answers, as in this country anyone who KNOWS how to fix things will live a live of impotent frustration.

[ nothing like a rant to start up a Saturday morning. I think I'll go out and yell at the kids playing in the street now.]

(edited for idiotic typos)