The Ehrlich Report


Fourteen years ago, I wrote an op-ed column for The Evening Sun on the motivation for wars and US involvement in the Middle East. I found the column while searching through a file drawer for a review I wrote of Dario Fo’s play, “Accidental Death of an Anarchist.” (More about that later.) You know how it is when you encounter a piece of memorabilia and find yourself drifting pleasantly back in time. This was not one of those instances. Rather, I found time slapping me in the face. I was shocked and awed

These were my observations then about the Bush (senior) administration and their promoting a policy of war:
“—to project President Bush’s image as a decisive leader
—to provide a basis for the US to control the world’s oil pricing
—to distract people from the savings and loans crimes [substitute corporate and accounting crimes] and the increased national debt
—to eliminate the “peace dividend” and refinance the military and intelligence agencies
—to revive the idea of nuclear power as an alternative to oil dependency
—to abandon environmental standards so as to allow domestic oil exploration in Alaska, off-shore and elsewhere
—to continue US protection of the Saudi Arabian royal family who contribut[ed]... billions of dollars to CIA projects
—to justify continued military aid and assistance to Israel
—to provide an opportunity for the US military to test new weapons and season troops.”

Clearly the Conservative right-wing has been able to stay the course. In mid-May, for one example, the US Senate voted 100 to 0 to fund the American military. That amount of money, $82 billion dollars, could likely have created at least 2.5 million jobs at a living wage. If by democratic politics we mean a decision-making process that allows for an effective opposition, then politics in America is dead. And as the liberals and leftists go slogging along, they can at best take credit for making the world “a little less unjust.”

“A little less unjust?” Fo’s protagonist (identified only as the Fool) berates a liberal reporter. “No doubt you’re right. After all didn’t we all sleep better when our cars became a little less unsafe, our food a little less unhealthy, our old people a little less uncared for, our workers a little less unemployed, our hungry a little less unfed? We’ve certainly set our sights high, haven’t we? A little less has become our only hope of more!” The Fool ends his rant: “For the sake of fairness, let’s keep in mind all the innocent citizens the government hasn’t blown up.”

We truly need to rethink our political projects. In these times, what does it mean to be in political opposition?