US and the World

Ouch! What we don't want to hear

The New York Times > Opinion > Op-Ed Columnist: All the Pretty Words

Bob Herbert does an excellent job here of delivering the bad news. It appeals to the realist in me - including his striking conclusion which is:

The voters may deserve better, but there's a real question about whether they want better. It may well be that candidates can't tell voters the truth and still win. If that's so, then democracy American-style may be a lot more dysfunctional than even the last four years has indicated.

But don't take the shortcut - go read how he got there.

Of course in my view he sugar coats itl, for he leaves out one huge negative. He neglects to tell us that 9/11 proves we can be attacked by our own technology with devastating results. Apply these tactics using nuclear or biological weapons and we have a catastrophe that is simply unimaginable. And we really have no way to stop such an attack. The lastest warning from Homeland Security may be on target - or it may be disinformation fed us by Al Quaeda. Who knows? Certainly not our CIA. And there are so many potential targets and so many potential weapons that it's next to impossible to even imagine how we can defend ourselves.

Beyond all this I remain an optimist - but only because it's the only way to hold your head up and keep trying. We have to believe there's a way. But we should listen to Herbert so we have a realistic assessment of the problems we face rather than the childish pap fed to us by the candidates.