Robertson & American Empire

We may have a new candidate for douche bag of the week. Maybe, depending on how I feel by the end of this entry, we’ll have a douche bag of the month!

Here is a guy famous for some pretty top-notch comedy in the world of public discourse. With winners like suggesting that the State Department be blown up with a nuclear device and saying that feminism encourages women to "kill their children, practice witchcraft, destroy capitalism and become lesbians." You knew the guy was bound to have another ripe zinger further down the line. Yesterday, he hit us with it!

This man of god, founder of the Christian Coalition, has called for our US government to facilitate the assassination of Hugo Chavez. This sounds mighty un-Christian to me. Granted that Chavez is a bit of a blow-hard ass, but to pop a cap in him seems a bit steep. Furthermore, the basis for the statement, a fear of Robertson’s that Venezuela may become "a launching pad for communist infiltration and Muslim extremism" is so rife with fallacies that I am not sure I can list them all here.

First, this country doesn’t need or want another Joseph McCarthy. Communism is a non-issue. People saw that it failed in Russia and they see how miserable people in Cuba are. (I’m am not going to touch China.) Communism is the least of our worries. For all intents and purposes, it is a red herring. And, Pat’s memory for history seems a bit foggy. Back in the 80’s, the Reagan Administration supported the Mujuhadin, a.k.a. Islamic fundamentalists, a.k.a. al Queda, to fight the Russian Communists. Thanks Ronnie! Islam has no love of Communism. It can be reasonably argued (unlike most of what Massah Robertson says) that Islam and Communism are completely incompatible. The annoying and sad thing is that lots of people believe Pat is truly doing the Lord’s work, is a good American and bummed that his Presidential bid failed.

The more unnerving thing is that the U.S., to a large degree, is where it is for thinking just like Mr. Robertson. It is because of America’s meddling nature that Islamists hate us and Hugo Chavez has ample fuel to spout off about how bad we are. We have supported regimes that oppress their peoples (remember Vietnam? How about Saudi Arabia?) We have stuck our nose where it did not belong because we want to protect our interests. Someone notable (please, if you know, tell me who, specifically) said that this, our current state of affairs, i.e. Iraq, Afghanistan, world enmity, is the price of empire. Is it worth it?

In the afore linked article, Patsy gets to the heart of it all in saying "You know, I don't know about this doctrine of assassination, but if he thinks we're trying to assassinate him, I think that we really ought to go ahead and do it," Robertson said. "It's a whole lot cheaper than starting a war ... and I don't think any oil shipments will stop." Its all about the oil.

As long as we are fat, secure and happy, who cares who we have to kill? Tens of thousands of Iraqis? No problem! So what if the environment is completely screwed. I’ve go my Hummer H2, my plasma screen, a well oiled semi-automatic with armor piercing bullets and more food in my fridge than 3/4 of the world sees in month. So what if our cars are screwing up the environment and creating rising tides that are displacing 20,000 island residents of Bangladesh? Just gimme the oil! We’ve got what we want. Nothing else matters.

I think Agent Smith hit the nail on the head.

Where is American self reliance? Where is Yankee ingenuity and a can do attitude? Where is the American Dream and the notion of sacrificing for the cause? Have we become an empire by default? Is this the fate of every republic? Lastly, communism clearly wasn’t sustainable. Can we follow the signs and determine if a democracy is sustainable?

Sorry for the drama. So, yeah. Pat Robertson is definitely douche bag of the month.