Fear Is Food for Conservative Politics
and reactionary thought...
I got this press releasetoday, and just had to shake my head. It urges citizens to write to their governors, demanding that the governors of each border state call in the National Guard to protect the borders.
Funny, because I was just reading “Don’t think of an Elephant” by George Lakoff, which talks all about framing in political conversation. And frankly, this press release, consciously or not, is feeding into the framing of “the world is dangerous and difficult, we are not safe, we need a conservative, strong leader.”
While of course the borders need to be watched better, borders are just one of the more convenient and easily recognized idea frames for "threat from outside," meaning “you need to vote for strong (conservative) leadership."
Other things people should consider before demanding that their governors start calling up the already-stretched-thin-national-guard (thin due to poor planning in Iraq and the fear-mongering associated with it) would be to secure nuclear material in the former Soviet Union, which the Bush administration and its allies "voted against before they voted for it."
Also, spending more money on securing shipping containers, only 5% of which are inspected--still. Or perhaps increasing the number of police and firefighters (which the Bush administration and its allies "voted against before they voted for it.")
But let's also not forget that another one of the strategic reasons for the recent conservative noise to secure the borders is to prevent illegal border crossings, and garner support for Bush's "Guest Worker" program.
Plain and simple, this press release is fear mongering, intentional or not. Of course terrorism IS a threat. But if you look closely at what's generally being talked about regarding border security these days, it's more for conservative strategic reasons than for reasons of security.
Look at the name for the recent "volunteer" border patrol: The Minutemen Project. All flags and guts, all symbolism, all politics. They would do more to protect the country by pressuring Bush and friends to secure nuclear material, secure shipping containers, and stop making enemies around the world. A good neighbor is better than a good gun, after all.
There are numerous cells and potentially thousands of "terrorist operatives" in the country already. That needs the most attention. Of course we should ALSO watch our borders, but to turn it into a crisis by calling on governors to be drama queens and call in the National Guard... puhleez. Can you say "posturing?" I knew you could...
Press Release
American Engineering Association
4116 S. Carrier Pkwy Suite 280-809 Grand Prairie, Texas 75052
For Immediate Release
Contact: Billy E. Reed, President
972-264-6428
E-mail: aea@aea.org
AEA Urges Governors to Call Up Guard
Ft. Worth, Texas - The American Engineering Association announced today they have written the governor of each state and urged them to call up the National Guard to secure our borders.
AEA President Bill Reed said, “There seems to be little interest in securing the borders from Congress and the administration though the public is overwhelmingly in favor of secure borders. The federal government’s primary responsibility is the safety of our citizens and they refuse to accept this responsibility.”
Each governor has the authority to call the National Guard in case of an emergency. Our citizen’s safety seems to meet these criteria. There are potentially huge financial benefits to each state for gaining control over the borders.
These benefits include:
- Lower education costs
- Lower healthcare costs
- Lower crime rate
- Lower incarceration costs
- Lower social services costs
- Less chance of terrorists attacks
- Fewer drugs on the street
- Less pressure on our natural resources
- Less pressure on our infrastructure
- Fewer illegal aliens
Some have estimated that in 2004 there were 3,000,000 new illegal aliens who entered the United States. This is a way to prevent some of those expenses at no cost to the state.
Reed said “Every state would benefit by millions and billions for some states at virtually no expense to the state. The guard is funded out of the federal budget.” I am sure the taxpayers would appreciate some tax relief.
“We need for all concerned about illegal immigration to contact their states governors, over and over until they act.” Reed said.
END
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J Klein is the creator of DemocracyMeansYou and occasionally writes and pens cartoons for the site. He lives in an undisclosed location in North Carolina with Dick Cheney.
DemocracyMeansYou was started as both an artistic response to the ubiquitous flag stickers after 9/11 (the THINK sticker was the impetus for the whole shebang), and a forum for liberal and progressive opinion, humor (always important), and inspiring / urging / demanding participation in the democratic process.
He has written for various publications and websites over the years, has worked as a licensed Psychiatric Technician with both the mentally ill and the developmentally disabled; worked as a mechanic for several years; worked for local government promoting ridesharing and alternative transportation in California; quantifying school accountability for California schools; and marketing writing and web design.
