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Inside U.S.A.: Bush and the Beanstalk
Posted on Monday, June 23 @ 14:49:36 UTC
Topic: Bush Loves Islam
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 by Ben Roberts
George Bush last week expressed confidence in US credibility, pointing to the
freeing of Iraqis by America. Obviously he did not read on the front page of The
Washington Post for that weekend what a group of those 'liberated' Iraqis had to
say about America. The group is the Iraqi Engineers Union. They feel ripped off
by the election of their Union leadership, concluding that it has been rigged, and
tainted with Baath Party officials. They are debating how best to find justice and
resolve the problem. Here is what transpires: 'We could go to the Americans,'
one engineer shouted. 'God forbid! God forbid!' said another. George Bush you
need to read this. Your 'liberated' Iraqi subjects see you, and Americans, as
anathema when it comes to justice, trustworthiness, and serving as credible
arbiters in the resolution of their disputes. Bush will probably dismiss this crowd
as radical Baath Party elements. Remember, I said at the outset that the group
was agitating because they feel their Union is tainted with Baath officials.
Kindergarten stories, nursery rhymes, and lullabies, are an important part of our
lives. They orient us to life, and teach us useful life lessons, though some leave
us to question this. Take for example 'Goldilocks And The Three Bears.' This
story needs some serious rethinking. Here we have a young lass who is guilty of
breaking and entering, destruction of property, and fleeing the scene of a crime.
What does this girl have to do to be arrested? Then we move to the lullaby 'Rock
A Bye Baby.' It says 'When the bough breaks the cradle will fall. Down will come
baby and cradle and all.' Can you imagine if a little baby could process this, how
their little bodies would be consumed with fear and terror? Wonder who thought
up that one? Maybe it was the Bush Administration, because they use the exact
same approach in their color code alerts to terrorize Americans and send them
scurrying for duct tape, plastic sheeting, and other sundry items. But the
kindergarten story that should be examined closely is, 'Jack And The Beanstalk.'
In 'Jack And The Beanstalk' there is a lot of poverty in the land. He and his
mother are barely surviving. She instructs him to take their single cow to market
to sell. This would bring in a few coins that will help them to get by for a little
while. On the road Jack meets a shady character who convinces him to part with
the cow for some 'magic beans.' His mother is furious when he returns home
with the worthless beans, and angrily throws them out the window. You know
how the story goes. Notwithstanding its outcome, I have a burning question that
begs an answer. If Jack had had some passing knowledge of who Condeeleza
Rice, Dick Cheney, Donald Rumsfeld, Colin Powell, Ari Fleischer, or George
Bush were, would he have made a trade for his cow with any of these individuals
had they happened along the road and offered him a deal? Think about it folks!
Continuing with this story. Jack infiltrates the castle with the help from the wife of
the odious and unpleasant giant, steals the giant's golden musical harp, coins,
invaluable golden egg, and the priceless goose that lay the golden eggs. When
chased by the giant who was wronged, Jack beats a hasty retreat, and with the
help of his mother chops down the beanstalk and kills the pursuing giant. In the
end Jack and his mother never wanted for anything again and lived happily ever
after. It is amazing and incredible how real life exactly follows fairy tales. Is the
odious and unpleasant giant in today's world none other than Saddam Hussein?
Is the golden harp, gold coins, golden egg, and golden egg laying goose the
invaluable oil that belongs to Saddam and his Iraqi people? Did our vicious
'decapitation' bombing and removal of Hussein, and our killing of up to ten
thousand Iraqi citizens, approximate the brutal end for the giant at Jack's hand?
There is a gaping flaw in 'Jack And The Beanstalk.' No one ever asks what
happened to the giant's wife. She was a kind and compassionate woman who
shielded Jack and kept him safe. Reminds me of how the Iraqis protected and
cared for Jessica Lynch. For lady giant's troubles Jack ripped off her valuables
and made her penniless, while enriching himself. Finally, he killed her husband,
meaning she was totally alone. I have to marvel at how this mirrors real life. Bush
continually crows about freeing Iraqis from oppression, and in so doing making
their life better. So the giant's wife was free of a husband who she feared. But
with this came a high price, because in the process she was used, robbed, and
made penniless. 'Iraqi citizens this kindergarten story might not be a part of your
culture, but you had better listen to this because you are living this distorted fairy
tale that is the hallmark of how your victor has been programmed to think.'
For my money I go with 'The Wizard Of Oz.' Now there's an uplifting story. It
teaches the value of arming ourselves against fear, aka The Lion. It encourages
self confidence, via Scarecrow. It tells us not to fear blowhards who use smoke
and mirrors to try to terrorize us with fear and throw us off course, like the Wizard
did. It shows that any of us, no matter how small and insignificant we might view
ourselves, has the power to bring about change and let truth shine through, as
little Toto did when he pulled the curtain aside to show the Wizard was not so all
powerful and terrifying after all. The story shares the important lesson that most
times we have the power to bring about change without even realizing it. After all,
all Dorothy had to do was click her heels three times to be taken back home. She
had this power all along but did not know until the Good Witch, Glenda, told her.
'The Wizard Of Oz' is a wealth of lessons to live by. No wonder it has endured as
a timeless classic for so long. We desperately need this story to get through the
difficulties in this world that we face today, and the fairy tales that the Bush
Administration is trying to anaesthetize us with. Do not buy into their 'Jack And
The Beanstalk' story of living happily ever after, even while doing others wrong. It
is a sham. It endangers us. It dislocates the world in which we have to live, and it
slowly erodes our principles and robs us of our humanness. Just like it did Jack.
Ben Roberts is a newsletter editor, freelance writer and published author. His book, Jackals of Samarra, was published in January 2001. Ben can be contacted by email at: grandt730@aol.com
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