See, Here’s the Thing

( – promoted by buhdydharma )

I have no answers here, so if you are looking for answers, this is not a good essay to read.

See, here’s the thing.  We have a Presidential election campaign going on.  It’s probably a good thing to pay attention to what’s happening there, yep.  After all, one of these folks is going to gain an enormous amount of power in November of 2008.

No question, attention should be paid.

But see, here’s the thing.  I’ve written reams about how not impeaching Bush and Cheney and their gang of criminals will have real consequences.  And I believe we are facing one of those many consequences.

As I am writing this, Bush, Cheney and their gang are breaking the law.  Nor will they stop breaking the law.  We all know this, it’s no secret.

Now here’s the thing about crooks and their gangs.  They operate best when no one is paying attention.  Hell, you could be a very unskillful and even stone stupid crook, but if no one is watching the store, you’ll still be able to grab and run away with a whole lot of merchandise, no?

So the more we pay attention to what’s happening with the election, the more we pay attention to the things most of us would, in normal times, pay attention to, we are at the same time giving cover to the criminality of the present gang of crooks now in power in our country.

And there’s no way around this.  For the next year, the opportunities for Bush and Cheney and their gang to continue to break the law, perform crimes that will cause the deaths of folks around the world will increase, because less people will be paying attention.

And that’s because impeachment has been taken off the table.

Now perhaps, it is only that I’m stupid.  Perhaps most other Americans can easily watch the progress of the campaigns and pay attention to the crimes of the Bush misAdministration at the same time.  Perhaps it’s just that I am limited that way and can’t do it.  Because I can’t.

I’m not unaffected by what’s going on with our Democratic candidates for President, nor am I unaffected by many other candidacies around the country — just to name a few, I support Gilda Reed, John Laesch, Barry Welch, and that’s just a tiny few of the folks running for office who I admire and am happy to know about.

So I can’t pretend I won’t be affected by the consequences of not impeaching this misAdministration.  I will also be distracted and bemused and during those times of inattention the crimes will continue.  I won’t be any different than any other American.  I will suffer these consequences, too.

We should be able to look forward, to try to see answers to the problems facing our country.  In a sane world, we’d write happily and undistractedly about the primaries and the candidates and discuss how we can help as citizens.

But every time we do that, every time we look forward, in real time a crime of national proportions is going on.  Every time we turn away from that, the criminals receive more cover to commit their crimes.

As I said, I have no answer to this nor do I think I will be immune to it more than anyone else.

It’s just that there are consequences to not having put impeachment on the table.  And I am experiencing one of those consequences and just thinking outloud about it.

(An Aside:  If I could, I’d make it so that this campaign season was sober and even grim, in both style, substance, and national discussion.  That would be a realistic response to what has happened in this country.  But even at my most delusional, I know that would be impossible in today’s world — Bush, Cheney and their gang of criminals have far too many accomplices, both witting and unwitting.  I am sick and tired of being an unwitting accomplice.)