Both were made dunces by terrorists. Frank Kyle’s Gringo describes how Osama bin Laden made George W. Bush a dunce. It wasn’t that hard:
“I think America will become a divided nation. Half the
country will be well off and happy enough but the other half will be struggling
and very unhappy, and very angry. I will tell you one thing, Osama bin Laden is
a fucking genius. He waited until we had a retard in the White House before
striking. He must have known that with idiot Bush in office the country would
collapse from its own weight, just like the World Trade Towers. Now it’s like
worrying about whether or not there are enough lifeboats on board after the
ship has struck the iceberg and is half underwater, the skipper still trying to
put on his pants and shoes. It’s too late. Too late. Too late. Just like it’s
too late for me.”
“You seem to feel that the immigration problem is way out of
control. Is that fair to say?”
“Out of control?” For just a moment I thought the good doctor isn’t paying attention. “Hell yes, it’s out of control. Everything is out of control...[1]
[1]
George
Bush was never a match for Osama bin Laden because George Bush is a phony, and
Osama bin Laden is the real thing. He is a real soldier, a true believer who
lives the life of poverty that we expect of a spiritual leader. He is a man who
fights for his people and their homeland rather than for personal gain. He is a
man who without a nation, without a military, without great material resources,
took on and defeated the United States.*
He will be
remembered as one of greatest leaders of 21st century (thus far, the greatest leader**). George, on the other hand, will
stand out as the 21st century’s greatest incompetent, a man who had
the opportunity and the power to accomplish unimaginable good for his people
and the world, but instead squandered both for a personal agenda of cultic
Christianity, Zionism, oil, wealth, cronyism, and the will to political power.
*If
you haven’t noticed that we have been defeated it’s because you have so little
imagination. When you think defeat,
you imagine only military defeat. Think again. The United States defeated
Iraq’s military and now occupies the country, so the Iraqis are defeated and we
are the victors. But no, we were defeated when our soldiers first stepped upon
Iraqi soil, and we continue to be defeated each day we remain. And who lured
the U.S. into Iraq? Osama bin Laden, because he knew that after 9-11 the
U.S. would do something irrevocably stupid because he knew that political extremists like himself but not as intelligent
occupied the White House and political fools occupied the Senate and House of
Representatives.
If you want to see defeat,
America, look in the mirror. What you will see is a nation that is disgraced;
morally, politically, and financially bankrupt; bogged down in unwinnable wars;
invaded by alien hordes; and confused, conflicted, corrupt, despairing, and
demoralized. Instead of being a nation of leaders, we’ve become a people led by
fools, which makes us fools since we elected them. We have been defeated and
will not recover.
In other words, the greatness
of Osama bin Laden is that he understood that he didn’t have to defeat America
but only create a situation in which America would defeat itself.
**Do the math. 1 George Bush +
1 Tony Blair + 1 John Howard + 1 José Maria Aznar + 1 Silvio Berlusconi + all
the other Bushian lap-dog leaders of the Coalition nations who acted against
the will of their people = 0. You ask how 1 = 0 is possible. A politician who
stands against his people, ignores reason, and acts immorally is nothing. You
may recall that evil is nothing in-itself, but only the absence of good, an
argument used to get God off the hook of having created or allowing evil to
exist in the world. I will let neither God nor these evil men off the hook, but
in the case of these evil men, they are nothing, less than the ash of the burnt
homes, villages, cities, and bodies they have caused to be destroyed.
Yet, 1 Osama bin Laden = 1.
Why? Because he and a handful of followers struck a blow against the monstrous
imperialistic dragon that seeks to control and transform the world: America. He
is the knight of old who serves not himself but his village and his people.
Americans cannot see Osama bin Laden as a hero because they do not see their
own villainy. They do not see that America has become like one of the Humvees
that drive through the streets of Baghdad shooting up the town and intimidating
the people. But like the lone protester who stood before the line of tanks in
Tiananmen Square, Osama bin Laden and a handful of his followers stood up to
America. Now millions do. Imagine 1 leader x 100 x 1000, x 10,000 followers and
you will understand what has occurred under the reign of George W. Bush. And
these millions are willing to follow Osama bin Laden to the grave, and will
continue to do so long after he is dead. And why? I will say it again, unlike
the other so-called leaders, Osama bin Laden is supported by his people because
he represents them, he fights for them, and in their eyes he serve the good by
fighting against the evil empire. And who follows George Bush? A ragtag crew possessed
either by God or Greed.
Thus I predict that by the end
of this century, Osama bin Laden will be worshipped by hundreds of millions of
followers because he stood up to the New Rome. I will even venture that he will
rival Jesus, who was unwilling to stand up against Rome (“Render unto Caesar
the things which are Caesar’s and unto God the things that are God’s” [Mark
12:17]), who chose
to surrender rather than fight.†
The present-day American politicians and their motley crews of foreign
sycophants will be remembered, like a bad dream that cannot be forgotten, as
the self-serving fools who led America and the West to their ruin during the
final years of their decline, just as the corrupt Catholic priests will have
struck the deathblow against a decrepit Catholic Church.
†Of course, in the hands of Apostle Paul Jesus would
become the sword that would destroy the Roman Empire. The strategies of Paul
and bin Laden have similarities. Both men relied on psychology as their main
weapon. Neither believed the enemy could be destroyed militarily. Bin Laden has
always known that the Muslim freedom fighters can’t defeat the U.S. military,
but he knew he could cause it to defeat America by turning it against America.
That sounds paradoxical. But the American military has helped destroy America
in various ways. Money spent on it and its wars abroad is money that
financially drains American taxpayers but does nothing to improve the
functionality of their nation. And by focusing on the so-called threat abroad,
Americans have neglected various threats under their noses, such as a growing
hostile Hispanic Nation that is taking over America communities and acquiring
greater political clout to accomplish its own mission to take control of much
of America, especially the territories America stole from Mexico (the Aztlán Movement). But Americans’ militaristic mindset has also
resulted in the continuing deterioration of the nation’s infrastructure,
cities, primary and secondary education, social services such as care for the
elderly and public transportation, and economy.
In addition, America’s reckless use of the military has destroyed even
among its allies its reputation as a nation motivated by ethical ideals. But
there is something else about America that is unhealthy and frightening.
Because of the 9-11 attacks Americans have come to celebrate militarism, so
much so that it has deeply changed the culture. We have become like the ancient
Spartans. The military defines our values and self-image. Culturally Sparta had
nothing to offer the ancient world except its fighting prowess. It was Athens
that was the intellectual and artistic center of the ancient world. It, not
Sparta, represented a culture that could inspire future civilizations. America
has become a nation of consumption, gadgets, entertainment, and militarism. In
that sense, we are much more like Rome than ancient Athens, but at least Rome
had inherited Greek culture, which inspired it until the Christians and
barbarians cast the empire into darkness. So what is missing? That’s not a
trivial question because I’m not sure how things should be. But I believe
whatever that way of life is, and perhaps it does take many forms, it should,
in essence, be about living beautifully, that is without causing unnecessary
ugliness, harm, and suffering. And living with a deep intellectual appreciation
of the being of beings and of Being itself, to use Heidegger’s phrasing. I
don’t believe one needs special training to do this.
I have an older cousin who lives on a very isolated farm in the Oklahoma
Panhandle. On a road trip Anne, Kelly, and I had been camping in Colorado and
on the way to visit my mother we stopped by his place to say hello but he
insisted that we spend the night. So we did. It turned out to be a big
adventure for Kelly because that evening we sat outside and could hear coyotes yipping
in the distance. My cousin said that he loves where he lives because though the
region has been tamed by farmers and ranchers it remains quite wild. “I live in
a wild, untamed world,” he said.
I asked him why he thought that. He said the idea that human beings have
tamed nature is an illusion. He then pointed to the sky which had become a
canopy of stars. He said, “Anytime a person thinks humans have nature under
control he needs only to look to the sky. There is very little of nature that
humans have control over. Farmers know better than most people just how
untamable and unpredictable nature can be. We struggle with unpredictable
cycles of weather and conduct an endless war against weeds and insects. Now
there’s talk of climate change. Well, the climate has always been changing, and
there’s nothing we can do about it.”
Then I asked him if he thought humans might be part of the problem.
He said, “No doubt about that. Most anything they do creates problems
for other creatures and for themselves. I try to be a good farmer, but I use
chemicals to increase production. I try to use them wisely. If I didn’t use
them I’d lose half my yield. And I rely on irrigation, which means I draw water
from the Ogallala Aquifer, which provides water to about a
quarter of the irrigated farmland in the U.S. Most farmers know it’s a limited
and declining resource so we try to use the water wisely. But one day, perhaps
in the next century, it will be depleted. That will be a big problem for all
Americans because it will reduce crop production in the country. Lots of jobs
will be lost and food will be more expensive. But it will be a bigger problem
for people living in areas that depend on water from the aquifer, for all uses
not just irrigation, like drinking water. That will be a lot of people because
the aquifer supplies water parts of South Dakota, Nebraska, Wyoming, Colorado,
Kansas, New Mexico, Texas and Oklahoma. When the water’s gone the agricultural
economy will collapse. There will still be some dry farming and grazing, but
nothing like today. Young people will go elsewhere for jobs. That’s already
happening in lots of places. And then the land will become even wilder than it
is today.”
“So what we do have a big impact,” I said.
“Can’t be otherwise. The earth is a resource that all living creatures
live off of. Humans are unique because we depend heavily upon nonrenewable
resources or overuse the ones that are renewable, like water. Before the white
man showed up the Apache Indians lived in these parts. They lived off what
nature provided each year—plants and animals. Couldn’t have been an easy life,
but it could have continued for thousands of years because they didn’t depend
on nonrenewable resources or overuse the renewable ones. It’s not that way
anymore. Too many people taking too much from nature can’t go on forever.”
“That sounds pessimistic.”
“It shouldn’t. Everything comes to an end. That’s another part of nature
that humans have little control over.”
“But Christians believe life will continue after death.”
“Let’s hope they’re right. But that’s not nature.” I then asked if he
believed human life will continue after death.
“Nature
says no. The Good Book says it does. I hope the Good Book is right, but I guess
we won’t know for sure until the time comes.”
I asked him if he ever went hunting. He said no. He didn’t see any
reason for it.
“Mostly what people hunt out here are wild turkeys, geese, and
pheasants. I’d rather buy my meat at the market. Cleaning birds is a lot of
work. Growing up it was different. We raised most of our food because it seemed
foolish to spend money on what we could grow and raise ourselves. Now it seems
foolish to do otherwise. A lot of the hunters we get out here come from
Amarillo and Oklahoma City. They just want to be outdoors for a while. I’m
outdoors all day long. Besides I like farming better than hunting or fishing.
But I don’t blame the hunters for wanting to get away from the cities. I don’t
care much for them myself.” I asked him if he allowed hunting on his land.
“No I don’t. I get mostly pheasant hunters wanting to shoot on my
property. They come in droves during the season. I post no-hunting signs. I
don’t like having men with guns on my property. Some farmers have had their
equipment shot up, though not by hunters. Still it sours them on people being
on their property with guns. But that’s not really my reason. I just figure the
land provides for my family and by allowing animals to live on it without being
hunted is my way of returning the favor.”
Though my
cousin calls himself a Christian, it seems to me that his relationship to the
land is pagan. But I’m not sure Christian
or pagan really describes his
thinking about life and how he relates to the natural world. Somewhere during
the conversation he said that living and thinking can become a routine that
causes us to take world around us for granted. He explained that as we grow out
of childhood the world becomes familiar to us and by so doing loses the mystery
it had when we were children. To children the world is a very mysterious place.
The simplest creatures—such as insects—are objects of amazement. He said that
never happened to him, that as he grew older the world and its inhabitants
became even more mysterious.
