Losing Our Sense of Priorities as a Nation...

Honesty is increasingly becoming a crime in Amerika.

Courtesy: Salon

(JAMESTOWN, RI) - It's a bizarro world we live in.

In days of old Daniel Ellsberg was considered a national hero, but in a bizarro world Bradley Manning faces life in jail or death for doing what was formerly considered heroic. In the old days leaders who lied and attacked countries that did not have the ability to defend themselves were considered war criminals and were executed for their crimes or severely punished. Today we have a former president who lied to the public and lead us into a war causing the deaths of over one million people. The entire infrastructure of that nation was destroyed including dams, electrical power plans, sewage and water systems, which in the days of old were considered off limits as they had nothing to do with a war and their destruction was merely punishment of the innocent. During that war it was disclosed that the leaders advocated and taught means of torture and we were even exposed to pictures of torturers at work sanctioned by the higher ups. Most of the pictures were kept secret because their barbarity and savagery were too horrible and would cause worldwide uproar if allowed to be viewed by the public.

In a bizarro world we do not hold any of those monsters accountable. No we don't; they continue their lives by getting $150,000 per speech which could only happen in a bizarro world.

We now know that we were lied to by our leaders, that they not only lied to us, but to the rest of the world as well. We know that war crimes were committed, that our government was responsible for many illegal acts around the world, that is supported brutal dictators, and war crimes were common in both Afghanistan and Iraq. We watched the murder of innocents in the infamous "Collateral Murder" video. We know this because a young man saw the evidence and thought it his duty to make such information public in an effort to stop the war crimes and lies to the American people. He thought the public had a right to know what the government was doing behind their backs, so he released the information to the public, refusing to take any money for his information, but insisting the public had the right to know what was being done in their name. In a real world he would be hailed as a hero, but in a bizarro world he is on trial for his life, despite the fact the government cannot produce one shred of evidence that any of the information caused physical harm to any individual or nation. It did however embarrass those who were exposed for their lies and policies, but not one person was physically harmed anywhere in the world. He is the only one who will be held "accountable"; i.e. making secret information public. Those whose lies led to a million deaths will not be held accountable. Those who ordered torture will not be held accountable. Currently a Kangaroo Court is making an absolute mockery of the 5th Amendment, and by hook or crook will find the whistle blower with a conscience, Bradley Manning guilty.

In the real world if I blow your house up and kill your entire family because I believe you might be planning to do something bad to me, but later find no evidence of any kind you were a threat to me, I would be put on trial for murder. In a bizarro world, those who allowed and sanctioned torture, and lied us into an needless war or choice with massive death and destruction, will not be held accountable, but the young man in this bizarro world will be punished, and all the while the public continues to consume huge quantities of "cool-aid" which cause them to believe that good is bad and that bad is good. It is a bizarro world.

Joseph Clifford

He graduated from Providence College where he earned an undergraduate and graduate degree. After a lengthy career as a high school teacher he turned to the study of US foreign policy, and then to writing, as a means of expressing an alternative perspective. His reading and research on foreign policy is broad and extensive, especially as the policy relates to the Middle East. His interest in foreign policy was inspired by the American misadventure in Vietnam. You can write to Joe at this address: jc21131@gmail.com