Friday, November 18, 2005
Loss of Illusions
I just listened to Daniel Ellsberg on the radio, describing his epiphany prior to his decision to release the Pentagon Papers, revealing the fraud perpetrated on Americans regarding the US mission in Vietnam. Alluding to comparisons between the Nixon and Bush II White House, he expressed hope that a critical mass of conscientious career public servants will likewise choose to risk those careers and even prison in the interests of putting America on a course consistent with our stated ideals.
He recalled both military and state officials who resigned in light of such deplorable Vietnam-era revelations of torture, assassination, and murder by our troops and clandestine agencies. He also remembered his loss of illusions in the late sixties when informed by CIA managers that such methods were regularly used on all continents to maintain what they themselves described as "our world plantation."
Ellsberg, by now sobered by this reality and his own transformation, made the point that if we no longer abide by nor pay credence to the US Constitution or international accords on human rights, that we will become a monstrous, isolated people, perhaps beyond what is presently imaginable.
He recalled both military and state officials who resigned in light of such deplorable Vietnam-era revelations of torture, assassination, and murder by our troops and clandestine agencies. He also remembered his loss of illusions in the late sixties when informed by CIA managers that such methods were regularly used on all continents to maintain what they themselves described as "our world plantation."
Ellsberg, by now sobered by this reality and his own transformation, made the point that if we no longer abide by nor pay credence to the US Constitution or international accords on human rights, that we will become a monstrous, isolated people, perhaps beyond what is presently imaginable.
