Living Free in the Land of the Protected

Dear George,

I was thrilled to see that HillBill took Ohio, whose state motto is “Home of the Honest Touch Screen.” It was good to hear her talk her smoke-filled room talk about how Democrats must carry Ohio to win in November, so Democrats had better back her because she's a proven winner in Ohio, if no place else.

HillBill's victory means that your legacy will live on after you leave office, and what a legacy it is! You have completed America’s transition into a militarized security state, one that HillBill is pledged to continue.

It’s not easy maintaining a constant state of militarized peace, especially when our wars of liberation are fought in defense of the corporate bottom line. Creativity is needed to produce the long line of imaginary enemies without whom our wars of pacification would be much more difficult to justify.

A militarized state must, of necessity be an authoritarian state. Such a state needs a leader unencumbered by the restraints of law and decency. Military efficiency demands that the leader be ready to snap an order on a moment’s notice, no matter how fucked up the order is or how disastrous its consequences. The order must be given, and there is little time or need for lengthy debate or discussion. Do it, or be shot! Life doesn’t get much easier than that.

Enemies are a must. Just as a young child is comforted by an imaginary friend, so must the militarized state be comforted by imaginary enemies. The sole justification for the militarized state is the presence of a constant threat. It makes little difference who this imaginary enemy is. Hitler had his Jews; we had our Communists who were replaced by the terrorists when the Commies faded from the scene.

I would point out that enemies that begin with a lower case letter are preferable to those that are capitalized. Lower case enemies tend to be more flexible and inclusive. With a capitalized enemy, one has to prove that an enemy is a Jew or a Communist. No such proof is necessary to label someone a terrorist. It is a generic term that can be stretched and expanded to include anyone the state deems inconvenient.

We live in a golden age, George. Americans have accepted an ongoing state of anxiety as the norm. They are simply too frightened to be free. And a frightened people always look for a strong leader. Of course, this fear is kept simmering by the ingenious use of sound bites. And you do have a fine collection:

· “keep us safe”
· “new attacks on our country”
· “bring destruction to our shores”
· “protect the American people”
· “critical information”
· “disruption of planned terrorist attacks”
· “hate our freedoms”

And those are only the sound bites you used to justify your Protect America [from democracy] Act.

I must say that if there is one thing that has made America the success story that she is, it is your doofus grin. It makes for a great graphic that gives our authoritarian state a down home façade that makes its oppression a little more pleasant for the people. While the Big Dick sneers on the dark side, you grin for the cameras and all is well in the land.

Your admirer,
Belacqua Jones