Ward, Not Winston

I read Ward Churchill's complete essay and addendum. I didn't want to just repeat what was being said on the news and talk radio so I found the complete text and read it for myself. You may do so at this address:
http://www.kersplebedeb.com/mystuff/s11/churchill.html

It can be summed up by saying that America deserved what we got on September 11.

Churchill says that we actually deserve much, much more than we got and that the terrorists, who he refers to as "soldiers" were "humanitarian" in their "counterattack." Churchill says that America's military is primarily about the business of destroying any country or leader that might stand in the way of American corporate profit. He says that if the bombing and burning of thousands of "brown skinned children" is the price we have to pay for our daughters to have the right sweater and our sons to have their soccer games then the American military stands ready to do it. Churchill says that Middle Easterners have no history of "exterminating others purely for profit" as Americans do. Churchill says that the people working in the WTC were participants by virtue of their willful, blissful ignorance of the American military campaign to effectively rule the world by whatever means necessary. Churchill says that if the "soldiers" who destroyed the WTC were trying to get even they must blow up 300,000 more buildings and kill another 7.5 million Americans. He concludes his essay with these lines, "As they should. As they must. As they undoubtedly will. There is justice in such symmetry."

In order that we not slip on the slope of dismissing opinions with which we disagree I'll address the problems with Mr. Churchill's essay.

The problem with Churchill's work is what is NOT said. Churchill's first glaring ommission is the culpability of anyone but America. He makes no mention of Japan's attack at Pearl Harbor. He does not mention Iraq's invasion of Kuwait or of the Hussein's collection of marble toilets, heroin, pornography and rape rooms. He does not mention Palestinians except to say that they are fighting against their sadistic oppressor, Israel, a nation funded by America.

Churchill's second blatant ommission is the good work that America does. He does not mention the hundreds of millions of dollars we give each month. He does not mention our struggles against Soviet communism. He does not mention the advances in every conceivable facet of human life that have come from America.

Finally, Churchill fails to draw a clear connection between bombing children in Iraq and American prosperity. He asserts that there is some profit to be gained by dropping millions of tons of bombs. He asserts that there is some profit to be gained by enforcing sanctions against Iraq. He makes these assertions but never connects the dots.

Let me speak on behalf of my country and say that we've certainly made mistakes. We've embarassed ourselves with our deplorable mistreatment of native Americans. We've shamed ourselves by kidnapping and enslaving West Africans to pick our cotton. We've made terrible decisions and mistakes that have cost lives. We've apologized for most of them and learned our lessons from most. We've made reparations to some and attempted to take affirmative action to compensate for the damage in others. We've addressed the wrong and we attempt to make it right.

We would rather do business with Iraq than go to war. We would rather trade with Iran and Afghanistan than have to send our troops to these places. We would rather be friends than enemies. We believe that a brighter future is coming to the people of Iraq and Afghanistan. We believe that there will be a day when we buy and sell Iraqi goods. We believe that there will be a day when we trade with and travel to Iraq and Afghanistan as we now do to Italy, Germany, Japan and even Russia.

Mr. Churchill, your work is passionate but shabby. You destroy your own credibility when you ignore the obvious contradictions to your arguments instead of addressing them. You've described only one side of the coin when it's clear that there are two sides.