I enjoy being enlightened while driving.  Some bumper stickers are so good, I feel the need to pull up beside the driver and give him/her a thumbs up … not like they had anything to do with the authorship of the sticker itself, they just had the forethought to pay a buck and stick it on their car. 

While my husband and I were driving this weekend, we saw a bumber stick that read:

“WAR SUCKS … BUT FREEDOM IS WORTH IT”

And the thing is, in its purest meaning, that is true.  I’m sure Revolutionary soldiers looked at each other at Saratoga, starving and standing in their own feces, and said, “But at least we’re not paying taxes on tea!”  So yes, war can be worth it – just not very often. 

The selling of the Iraq War as a freedom issue boggles the rational mind.  Aren’t we smarter than that?  What the Project for a New American Century knows that we’re afraid to admit is simple:  No one ever went broke underestimating the intelligence of the American people.  Can you imagine the meetings with Karl Rove, William Kristol, and the PNAC people sitting around with 100 year old Scotch, laughing their crony asses off saying, “No wait … I got a good one … we’ll occupy a country and then call them free!  It’ll be a gas!  Speaking of gas, put the Halliburton pro-formas up again.  I just can’t get enough!”

In Civics class and also in Critical Thinking classes (neither taught in school today … hmmm), one of the most important evaluation questions goes like this:

FROM WHAT … TO WHAT?

Barbara Jordan, one of this country’s greatest politicians – as well as the patron saint of this blog, asked that question to the Democratic National Convention while Clinton ran against Bush I.  She asked about change – change from what to what.  That question is apropos today. 

FREEDOM FROM WHAT … TO WHAT KIND OF FREEDOM?

The troop surge will start soon.  Nothing has changed, except for the rising death toll – not only for young American soldiers, but for Iraqi civilians as well.  How many Iraqi children would you kill, albeit accidentally, to give them freedom?  Freedom with U.S. military posts always present.  Freedom with a vote, but a vote that the U.S. better like. 

Barbara Jordan also said something else when dealing with issues of policy:

“It is reason, and not passion, which must guide our deliberations, guide our debate, and guide our decision.”

I’m sure the driver of that gas-guzzling H3 really thinks freedom is worth it.  He felt strongly about the Iraq war, and the issues of today.  Next to his “War Sucks” bumper sticker, Calvin was pissing on the word TERRORISM.  Now that’s a statement.