State of Fools

American's are a gullible lot, it seems. In a time when reporters can be bought by the Whitehouse or any political party, you'd think that we'd be a bit more skeptical. We're not, of course. Which leads to some interesting beliefs amongst the masses, the majority of which may be adding to the "cultural divide", that ever widening schism between the left and right.
These are reactionary times, and in order to maximize political gain, both sides put out information that is misleading. Note, I said both sides; the Democrats are just as guilty. Here's an example - during the initial phase of Operation Iraqi Freedom, forces on the ground found a "Scud" missile, hiding in a hanger. The eager officer traveling with the press corps showed off the find, and it made the news in a number of quarters in no time. Problem was, it wasn't a Scud at all; it was an air launched missile, an anti-shipping weapon. Keep in mind that most of the Iraqi air force was destroyed during the 1991 Gulf War; there was little chance that the weapon could even be used. That little fact went unnoticed by most American's. No doubt, many papers that are practicing partisan politics buried their retractions deep within the classifieds, page 47, bottom, small typeface.
It is in the interest of both parties to keep the disinformation going. Problem is, and trust me, they know this, Americans just don't follow up with the facts. We don't want to, we're loathe to. Americans would rather just accept the information that our leaders give to us then to take the time and follow up on their own.
There may be an even more insidious reason why Americans don't want to know the facts, though, and the thought of it makes my skin crawl. Since the initial Gulf War, many of our fellow citizens have had this notion that we've needed to take care of Saddam Hussein once and for all. Don't get me wrong, the man was a tyrant and his departure would be a good thing. Forget the fact that Iraq was a completely encapsulated country for most of the 90's. Americans, it seems, wanted blood, no matter the cost. This before the events of 9/11. After that dreadful day, the blood lust grew, and regardless of the facts, for many Americans, Iraq had to be involved. In the past three years, we've been steadily growing a severe "us vs. them" mentality. Many amongst us see no difference between a Saudi, an Iraqi or an Afghani. Worse, many seem to think that anyone whose genetic origins can be traced from the western extent of North Africa to the eastern edge of the Indian subcontinent is the same ethnic group, "Arabs". Of course, they are not. But in a country where many can't even find all fifty states on a map, it is little pause for wonder. For these people, they (meaning the large, amorphous "them") are all guilty.
September 11, 2001 was a galvanizing moment in this country. After the initial wave of patriotism died down, and cooler heads urged jurisprudence, we now are a nation at odds with ourselves. More than willing parties amongst our politicos are happy to take advantage of this for their own aims, not the nation's. Therefore, it is now more than anytime in our nation's history that we proceed not with arrogance but with awareness that these difficult times require logic and reason before action. This is not to say that defensive measures be ignored; it is to say that we must know the enemy, or even more rampant xenophobia will set in. There is an old saying "fool me once, shame on thee, fool me twice, shame on me". We should not allow ourselves to be fooled by those who we know most intimately, ourselves.