I have been following the ongoing struggle to convince Iran to release the 15 British Naval personnel from captivity. As I mentioned in my last entry, I pray that they are returned to their shipmates as soon as possible.
Every time this middle eastern disaster takes another bizarre turn, I find myself less and less inclined to believe what our leaders tell us. I have no idea whether the British vessel was in Iraqi or Iranian waters but I know that I am no longer willing to accept anything Blair says at face value. He has twisted the truth so many times now that his words have no value. I suspect that I am by no means alone in this. And, of course, Bush would say anything - he has so little credibility now that he is playing to his supporters only. And they will clearly swallow quite a bit.
So, how are we to discern the truth when foreign crack-pot leaders speak with as much authority as the US President and the British PM? I think we have have reached a situation where trust has become virtually impossible, where the statements of our leaders must be scrutinised as we would examine a complex legal argument. I firmly believe this to be a result of the "swing to the middle" - the move towards politicians who functionally believe in nothing, who have no ideological or moral conviction. Thus you get people like Bush in the US, Blair in the UK, and smaller fry like Bertie Ahern in Ireland - falling over himself to support American aggression despite Ireland's (supposed) neutrality. These people have no moral back-bone and little dignity - just a hugely inflated sense of their own importance. And no qualms about giving their own people a kicking to advance their own shabby interests.
Ahern is a good case-in-point. He invited Bush to visit Ireland, much to the disgust of the Irish
people - and used the security forces to keep protesters far away from him. He didn't want the great man to hear a single "boo" during his visit. In the same way, Irish military and police resources were employed to guard US war-planes and soldiers at Shannon airport, during frequent stop-overs. One letter-writer to The Irish Times correctly noted the common belief that the Irish military existed to protect Irish people from foreign armies, not to protect foreign armies from Irish people! Ahern respects nothing - least of all the will of his own people. He should face a war-crimes prosecution for allowing 'planes to refuel while on the way to bomb civilians in Iraq. But he wont, will he? The war-crimes tribunal is a servant of the western political machine, and exists (seemingly) to punish those who "we" don't like.Is this the world we want? A place where might is right, where truth is a function of the speaker's desire, rather than a reflection of fact? A world where justice is governed solely by economic considerations rather than personal freedom or liberty? Is that what we want?
Of course, many will say that it has always been thus - and perhaps they are correct. But, have you ever known a time when injustice and untruth have been so apparent and visible? Truly, only the shameless can thrive in such circumstances.
