Henri Reynard Speaks Out

A Sorry Story Of Lies And Human Rights?

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It is clear that 9/11 has become the excuse for changing the policies of this nation radically in a number of areas. We have long been a global advocate for human rights and have most often stood against most governments that suppress their people. The power of our government to pressure and detain people in pursuit of information about terrorism is truly awesome today. We have continued to erode a century and a half of progress in human rights in the USA ever since the firestorm of 9/11 burned our sensitivity and scorched our faith in our own security. It was perhaps the most successful act of terrorism in history. A few men used our own technology of aviation to destroy two huge symbolic buildings and damage another. Since that violent act we have retreated into the vain hope that government will resolve our fear by oppressing those among us who might pose a threat. We have become more active internationally and propose to pursue peace at home by waging wars against those who might become able to attack us if they can develop weapons terrorists might use against us. The only weapon a terrorist needs is our fear, and we have offered them that commodity in great supply.

Our fear of Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD) is already tragic and is fast becoming almost ludicrous. We lost 3000 lives and a great cities' prosperity to a few credit cards and four of our own aircraft. It is hardly necessary for a terrorist to take the chance of importing heavy and detectable nuclear arms in order to stimulate our fear. We offer endless opportunities for terrorists to use our own civil and private infrastructure against us if they are creative. The sad and dangerous truth is that a ladder is far more likely to end our life than a terrorist, but most people don't fear ladders. The odds of dying from an accident involving a ladder are around 1 in 10,000. The number of deaths caused by terrorism against individuals in this nation hovers around 3000 and our population is nearly 300,000,000. That would appear to make those odds 1 in around 100,000. Of course the statistical lie in that number is that I am comparing a statistic related to one death in 10,000 deaths to a statistic related to 3000 deaths relative to a total population rather than the number of deaths in that population. It is really easy to prove a lie with statistics. Lies are more the enemy of freedom and human rights than terrorists; they confuse people and destroy the trust that is so essential to Democracy.

We are being told some of the oldest lies in the history of humanity and our fear is dulling our minds enough that we are not reacting to that fact. That guy, Saddam in this case, was getting ready to attack us. Bull! That guy was having a hell of a time trying to hold his evil regime together, he had little attention to spend on what he knew to be vain hopes that Iraq would defeat us in any way. Successful wars are fought by people who have history of success in war and a military tradition together with a civilian economy and infrastructure that can support war. Productivity and technology applied to combat by generals educated in the use of military force throughout history is the basis of real military power. Saddam had none of those on his best days and we were capable of taking him out at any time as we have so amply proved.

As to his WMD, we have found none, even after wiping out his military with hardly a scratch on ours. Yes the three hundred or so deaths that were suffered by our forces are awful, on the other hand they may have lost 100,000 dead and another 100,000 injured or maimed. He never had the power to threaten us; that was a lie, told by our leaders for whatever purpose they had in telling it. Their purpose may even have been to help us recover our confidence after 9/11, a worthy cause. Lying is a slippery slope as my mother said when she applied the ruler to my rear guard. I think it would behoove a lot of us to look at the slippery slopes that we are on today with a greater awareness of where they may take us before the abrupt stop at the bottom. Riding your sled into a tree can be harmful to your health. I speak from sad experience.

So where is the hard object at the bottom of this slippery slope of our own fear and its impact on how we view our government? Loss of civil rights is already certain as the one hard object at the end of this slide. I hope we don't miss them too much because getting them back is going to be a lot harder than giving them up was. Loss of truth in government is growing larger as this slide progresses farther, and that can be the cliff at the end of this gradual slope. Human rights cannot be upheld in an environment of fear without accountability being enforced by the citizens on their leaders. They must be forced to account for the last lie, even if the outcome of that lie appears to be a gain in confidence by the public. It is a lie that Saddam could threaten us. It is a lie that Mr. Powell knew how many WMD he had. It is a lie that we fought this war for the freedom of the Iraqi people. It is a lie that our doctrine of preemptive war will make us safe. It is a lie that this war is over. It is a lie that the war in Afghanistan is over. These are among the many lies that we are being fed by a media that clearly no longer can discern the truth for us.

Lying by an individual can be amusing in the case of those who embellish on reality and tell stories that grow ever larger than reality. Lying by government officials is sadly not in that category of amusement and expansiveness. When Donald Rumsfield lies to us it is as the second in command of the most powerful military force ever assembled on earth. When the President lies to us it is as commander in chief of that same force. These are two of the most powerful men on earth. It is never good for the rest of us when the rich or the powerful take up lying as a full time pursuit. It will harm our Democracy if we allow this to continue. Only the people can stop these lies from consuming our prosperity, our human rights and our freedom. The people must overcome their fear and give up the hope that our government can keep us safe if only we will compromise those hard won rights that so many have died to establish.

That is the greatest lie of all, that the government can save us from all of our enemies if only we will surrender our rights. Our military can make us the most feared nation on earth, but we are already that. Our office of homeland security and our police forces can reduce crimes and terrorism but they cannot end them. There is no safety in a world where a ladder can kill you in a moment of inattention. We are the most free people ever in the history of the world, and it has made our success a thing to emulate. If we give up that freedom voluntarily we will fade and become a dim memory of a people who once were free. I would not wish that fate on my children and grandchildren or yours. God bless you and our troops and protestors and keep you safe in these lying times.