Our Collective Insanity

Endless undeclared wars. Unchecked corporate power. A demagogue like Glenn Beck on the cover of Time. Unemployment high. Real health insurance reform held hostage by the status quo. Misguided “revolutionaries” marching on Pennsylvania Avenue.

Has everyone gone insane? Are we experiencing a collective mental meltdown?

Nowhere is the madness more pronounced than in our determination to remain in Afghanistan.

We can deploy as many troops and private contractors as we want in Afghanistan and still “lose” the war because winning is an impossibility. Echoing his predecessor, President Obama claims that winning in Afghanistan is vital to our security. OK, Mr. President, prove it. Prove that after eight years more American casualties are worth it. Prove that more civilian deaths are justified. Prove that Afghanistan won’t descend into chaos no matter what we do or how long we remain. Prove that for every “terrorist” we kill another doesn’t take his place.

Except for those who have served there, and their families and friends, the American public could care less about Afghanistan -- a far away country with a foreign history and culture. No, Afghanistan is out of sight and out of mind, as invisible and inscrutable as the enemy we seek to destroy. The costs of the war are also out of sight and mind -- charged to our national credit card, hidden in massive budget documents with accounting sleight of hand. Institute a draft and start sending well-to-do kids to die in the Korengal Valley and maybe the public mood changes.

Like all imperial powers throughout history, the United States has discovered that invading another country is a relatively easy affair; leaving is the tough trick. The initial surge of overwhelming military might produces a short-lived euphoria. The real war begins when the dust settles. The cakewalk becomes a quagmire. False honor trumps reality every time. The imperial power can’t admit it blundered without appearing weak or lacking in “resolve,” so instead of cutting its losses it digs in, more determined than ever to “win” what can’t be won. Justifications for staying are created, re-created and recycled; bold new “strategies” for securing peace and stability are unveiled.

Meanwhile, domestic problems mount. The Chairman of the Federal Reserve, Ben Bernanke, claims that the recession is over or nearly over, but Bernanke and his ilk live in bubbles protected from the hardships faced by ordinary Americans. How can the recession be anywhere near over when the unemployment rate in California is 12%?

Rest assured, the insanity will continue.