(C) Daily Kos
This story was originally published by Daily Kos and is unaltered.
. . . . . . . . . .
Lest We Forget: "Shock and Awe" Is a Term of War. [1]
['This Content Is Not Subject To Review Daily Kos Staff Prior To Publication.']
Date: 2025-02-20
“Shock and Awe” was a phrase coined by someone in the George W Bush administration to describe what they intended to do to a country that posed no threat to the US, under the guise of fabricated stories of Iraq’s “weapons of mass destruction” being a bogus direct threat to the US and the world. A tagline, it was, for a series of atrocities that were, in essence, Bush making up for his daddy’s perceived failure to follow through in the Gulf War and to march to Baghdad, a decade earlier.
It was a term that hearkened back to Hitler’s “blitzkrieg,” literally “lightning war” in German. There is no shame in that mild plagiarism, although there is ample, eternal shame for Bush and Cheney’s numerous war crimes that the phrase promoted.
And now, an even more despicable human being has stolen that execrable tagline for a series of atrocities, which are currently being committed against the American people. There are no bombs and gunfire (so far) being used in this latter-day direct assault on the structure of American government, but there’s no question that this Trump-declared war attacks, like his Bush/Cheney template, an imaginary enemy (the US government itself) for the purposes of payback for his own psychopathological derangement — and for his finally having been called to account for it these past few years.
We, in other words, are being attacked by our own government’s Executive branch in a destructive assault on American civil society. The other two branches are in the process of being subsumed into the Executive, the end goal being, literally, a full-blown dictatorial monarchy with Trump as its head. As with much of Trump’s modus operandi, he has not even bothered to hide that fact:
x I had to confirm these for myself. Here are Trump's Deputy Chief of Staff and the official White House account running with Trump's earlier post referring to himself as king. Famously, the United States of America fought a war over not wanting to be ruled by a king. — Phoebe Petrovic (@phoebepetrovic.bsky.social) 2025-02-19T20:27:35.606Z
All of us are being attacked, as well, not just those of us who’ve known all along that Trump is psychopath of the first order; he’s also attacking a large portion of his base, those who think he was a champion of the “little man,” and those who see him as, literally, God’s chosen leader. All of us, the entire United States of America (or as much of it that still exists) are his victims.
So keep that in mind, readers, as you navigate the coming days, weeks, months and years. You are being attacked, “Shock and Awe”-style, by a raving lunatic, his oligarch allies, and his sycophantic, equally-deranged minions, as they attempt to steal your country, your freedom, and your aspirations.
My point? That complacency is tantamount to complicity. We must act accordingly, without violence (as long as their own guns are not drawn) but with extreme urgency and civil-disobedience, engaging in John Lewis’ “Good Trouble” going forward:
“Speak up, speak out, get in the way. Get in good trouble, necessary trouble, and help redeem the soul of America.” From the Edmond Pettus Bridge, Selma AL, on March 1, 2020
This is our job.
[END]
---
[1] Url:
https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2025/2/20/2304992/-Lest-We-Forget-Shock-and-Awe-Is-a-Term-of-War?pm_campaign=front_page&pm_source=more_community&pm_medium=web
Published and (C) by Daily Kos
Content appears here under this condition or license: Site content may be used for any purpose without permission unless otherwise specified.
via Magical.Fish Gopher News Feeds:
gopher://magical.fish/1/feeds/news/dailykos/
