Mud Levees versus Tsunamis

GW is on PBS's News Hour declaring that he "only does what's legal"(referring to government surveillance of U.S. citizens) to protect the U.S. against terrorism.
--Outraged commentator

Well, he's lying, of course. So what else is new?

I may be really jaded, but I'm finding it more and more difficult to get upset about things like domestic surveillance, or the torture of detainees. These things are only what you'd expect.

As long as you permit your government to have a war machine, you'll get wars.

If we elect fascists and liars, we'll get fascism and lies.

A rotten tree does not bear good fruit.

I don't know that attacking these problems piecemeal -- swatting at domestic surveillance here, or at torture and illegal detention there -- does much good, although it's beneficial that these things are still pointed out. But what's the total effect of all these revelations? Have we figured out yet who we really are?

The rest of the world knows (excepting our little obedient poodle dog, England, of course), even if we(in the words of Conan-Doyle)have not the slightest clew!

We're not one nation under God. We're one nation on a shopping spree and a petroleum bender, and we're willing to blow up anyone who doesn't cooperate in our pursuit of this insane and increasingly hysterical way of life, recently described by our Vice-President as "non-negotiable."

So, domestic surveillance? Sure. Is it legal? Of course not. Is it to be expected from this scurvy crew? Does a bear live in the woods? Big, big deal.

I'm not giving up exactly. I just feel like we're in an extremely ominous, very revolutionary situation that's being driven by events and circumstances way beyond our control.

The way we've been living is coming to an abrupt and painful end. The Bush administration's weak and pathetic attempts to deal with this reality are a symptom rather than a cause of the enormous changes we're soon to endure.

We seem to have no idea who we are, or what part we played in creating this impasse.

I must say, in favor of Bush and the neocons, that at least they're attempting to deal with the reality of petroleum addiction (by securing more) and economic constriction (by propping up the pillars of capitalism with tax cuts), however inadequately and short-sightedly. They seem to understand the true nature of our problems, unlike most Americans who are totally unable to comprehend the enormity of what’s happened since the turn of the century, and what’s about to happen in the next few years.

What I'm saying, I guess, is that debating the legality of domestic surveillance, or the torture of detainees, or even whether we're trying to export "freedom" and "democracy" to Iraqis, is, to use a tired simile, sort of like re-arranging the deck chairs on the Titanic.