> The inimitable Nathan Newman writes:
> >And the failure of the Left to have a program for bringing democracy
and
> >a voice to the people of Iraq (and Afghanistan and Kosovo and etc.)
without
> >use of those B-52s is why it lacks the moral authority to stop any of
these
> >wars.
>
> Are you really saying that we didn't stop this war because we lack
'moral
> authority'? We lack actual authority, which means that various
wonderful plans
> we might imagine to encourage democratic flowering in our own country
and even
> in neighboring countries are dead letters. If anything, there's too
much
> utopian imagining about how the U.S. could 'help' people in other
countries and
> not enough discussion of how to put in place a government here that
won't level
> said countries, and I don't mean elect Democrats.
>
> Jenny Brown
=========================
Would it be possible to reframe the above to show that we *did* have power and authority sufficient to mobilize with millions across the planet and the warlords *lacked* the decency and humility to realize they were wrong on this one? Setting up the issue as one of failure on our part discourages newcomers to struggle who are willing to learn and mobilize, esp. given that more people are paying far more attention to what the warlord class has been doing in a long time. Totally agree with the last sentence.......
Ian