Dubya is for Wanker
So I've had a lot of people ask me lately if I'm given a hard time for a) being American b) being American when there's a US led war going on that spits in the face of the UN and c) being an American in Australia when many Aussies are rightfully pissed off that they have to go to war because their Prime Minister is sucking up to George (W. is for Wanker) Bush.
The answer to a, b, and c is no. Anyone who knows me knows where I stand on all this. I am very disappointed in the decisions being made as of late and I'm embarassed to be from the same country as the Head Wanker. There was an article I read recently in the Sydney Morning Herald - if I can find the link, I'll post it. It raised several question, including whether the Oscars should be boycotted, and talked about what Australians could do to make their voices against this war heard. The author commented that Australians giving up every-day household products from the U.S. a) wasn't that practical and b) wouldn't even make a dent anyway. The author suggested that to make the U.S. take notice of you, you have to hit 'em where it hurts - in the pocketbook/wallet. And that's true. So the article went on about how Australians
do make an impact in the entertainment economy - if Aussies stopped buying Yankee music, going to see Yankee movies, all that stuff, that would make the entertainment execs stand up and take notice. It's an interesting idea. What really resonated with me the most though was the feeling of, "Crap, what the hell can we do? What can we do as Australians?" I can totally understand other countries' annoyance, I mean, if the President of the United States can easily smirk at the UN and say, "yeah, whatever, thanks for playing, but we're still doing what we want to do" - it does give you sort of a hopeless pang right in the gut.
The one thing that really made me laugh in the article was how the author said something about how at least the American citizens have
some sort of control over all this - they get to at least decide who their president is, while the rest of the world has to suffer at the hands of the elected idiot. (The elected idiot stuff is all me, btw.) But I beg to differ! Someone needs to send this writer a copy of
Michael Moore's Stupid White Men pronto. (Nice
Oscar speech too, Mikey!) After all, hasn't he/she heard? We didn't actually elect our current President. He didn't actually win the Presidency, yet he's still snug as a bug in a rug in the White House. So, if you think we Americans feel like we've got any power or control at the moment, well, sorry to disappoint you!
Lots of prayers go out to my friend Jo's little brother - he's one of many British soldiers currently in Iraq. I hope he makes it home safe and sound. :(
