Cross-posted from Boston Liberal Examiner. Read the entire article here: http://www.examiner.com/...
When the American public began to see the carnage and horror being broadcast into their living rooms from the tiny country of Vietnam, a society vowed, "Never again!" And a government agreed.
"Never again," they said. Never again would the media betray their ambitions. Never again would the American public be allowed to see a war so up close and vivid. Never again would we be allowed to get a real sense of the vulgarity and evilness of war.
As a result the War on Terror was a reality show from the beginning. It started as a swell of patriotism, a gut-level inspirational Movie of the Week. "You're either with us or with the terrorists!" "This...crusade, this war of terror, it's gonna take awhile." We even had an "Axis of Evil." Easily recognizable "bad guys" in which to direct our hate.
Because the Bush administration knew all too well that you can't really go to war with a scattered gang of terrorists. You can't declare a military war on an ideology. They needed, and found (through lies and distortions) a physical enemy, complete with borders and an already well-known figurehead.
Cross-posted from Boston Liberal Examiner. Read entire article here: http://www.examiner.com/...