The Government I Have
Not the Government I May Want or Wish to Have
I have long thought that Donald Rumsfeld is the anti-Christ. I don't even believe in God, or, by association, the Devil. But let's pretend, for Theocracy's sake, that there is a Christ, and, by association, an anti-Christ. Donald Rumsfeld plays that role of hypothetical anti-Christ quite well, I think. If there were an Oscar award for Best Demon in the "Nightmare Movie That Has Become America's Sad Reality," Rumsfeld would surely win the prize.
Let's face it: not only is Rumsfeld as ugly as the devil, but he has no heart or soul. He's as hollow as the Tin Man, and as soulless as the Wicked Witch of the West.
Of course, he's really much much worse than anything Oz could conjure up. For one thing, he's real.
And now, even Republicans are picking up hints that our Secretary of Defense might indeed be directing and starring in his own biopic, " Donald Rumsfeld: Spawn of Satan."
Recently, when a soldier asked why he and other soldiers were having to dig in landfills to find metal reinforcements for their trucks, Rumsfeld cavalierly and callously respoded, "You go to war with the Army you have, not the Army you might want or wish to have."
That's beyond diabolical. It's bad enough that the American government has hoodwinked young, blinded-by-testosterone soldiers into believing they are fighting a "just war," one which has destroyed a reported 100,000 civilian lives, killed and maimed thousands of soldiers, decimated infrastructures, fomented insurgency and terrorism for decades to come, encouraged deplorable torture of prisoners (many of whom are mere innocent civilians), and augmented the coffers of US corporations.
It's bad enough that these young, often poor soldiers are coming back to a country whose government is refusing to acknowledge their sacrifices and refusing to dole out the benefits that are rightfully theirs (some Iraq veterans are already homeless, and many are not getting proper medical care for their severe spinal injuries, heart problems, fractured bones, and mental disorders.)
It's bad enough that there is a backdoor draft which is forcing many in the military to stay put long past their tour of duty is over, all because the military is having recruitment difficulties.
It's bad enough that all this is happening, that poor soldiers are fighting a corporate war in which Halliburton gains and everyone else loses - if not life, then limbs; if not limbs, then sanity; if not sanity, then hope.
As this were not enough, Rumsfeld adds to the horror by ignoring the soldiers' pleas for better equipment, so that they may protect themselves in a war that is being fought for him and his interests, and nothing else. Rumsfeld adds to the shame by flippantly telling the soldiers, "You go to war with the army you have."
In other words, "Deal with it, asshole."
Message to Rumsfeld: I support the troops, asshole. You don't. You support yourself, and no one else, because you are the devil, and the devil is a wicked, wicked being.
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Alison Ross is a passionate but peeved advocate for the poor and homeless. She deplores American fascism but adores American liberalism. She has had her sociopolitical rants showcased in Democracy Means You, Exquisite Corpse, Democratic Underground, Muse Apprentice Guild, When Falls the Coliseum, and Creative Loafing. She also venerates verse, and has had her poetry published in Cerebral Catalyst, A Little Poetry, Muse Apprentice Guild, Mad Swirl, and Nova Express, and forthcoming in Underground Window. When not writing, she enjoys reading, drinking wine, snoring, and bonding with her feline friend, Quetzal.
