Freedom isn't free?
I have lost count of the times that a supporter of Bush's adventurism has spouted this little dictum or a variant thereof. This kind of bumper-sticker politics is deceiving in that on the surface it appears to make sense -- fighting for liberty does usually require a sacrifice.
I would ask who exactly is paying for it right now?
The biggest cost is being borne by the Iraqi people, both in terms of lives lost (Bush himself estimated last year that it is at least 30,000) and in financal hardship. Surely the decision to sacrifice their lives and/or livelihood for their freedom should have been their own, rather than that of the British and American leaders?
It is true that many Americans have paid the ultimate price, but I suspect that they are probably not the children of the wealthy Republicans who started this war. In fact they are more typically the people who grow up faced with the choice of a McDonalds uniform or an Army uniform.
Finally there is the financial cost to America. Huge, no doubt, but again we must ask, paid for by whom? Certainly not adventuristic, wealthy Republicans. Their desire for a tax cut evidently outweighed any sense that the potential outlays for the war might make such a cut unwise. Instead of biting the bullet and providing the government with much-needed funds, this elite subset of society cut the money available to the government by giving themselves a hefty tax cut. Then, when faced with the inevitible deficit they spoke of fiscal responsibility and cut the services that the least fortunate in society rely on.
So next time a wealthy suburban white Republican tells you that freedom isn't free, ask them exactly what it has cost them. The answer will likely be 'nothing at all'.
I would ask who exactly is paying for it right now?
The biggest cost is being borne by the Iraqi people, both in terms of lives lost (Bush himself estimated last year that it is at least 30,000) and in financal hardship. Surely the decision to sacrifice their lives and/or livelihood for their freedom should have been their own, rather than that of the British and American leaders?
It is true that many Americans have paid the ultimate price, but I suspect that they are probably not the children of the wealthy Republicans who started this war. In fact they are more typically the people who grow up faced with the choice of a McDonalds uniform or an Army uniform.
Finally there is the financial cost to America. Huge, no doubt, but again we must ask, paid for by whom? Certainly not adventuristic, wealthy Republicans. Their desire for a tax cut evidently outweighed any sense that the potential outlays for the war might make such a cut unwise. Instead of biting the bullet and providing the government with much-needed funds, this elite subset of society cut the money available to the government by giving themselves a hefty tax cut. Then, when faced with the inevitible deficit they spoke of fiscal responsibility and cut the services that the least fortunate in society rely on.
So next time a wealthy suburban white Republican tells you that freedom isn't free, ask them exactly what it has cost them. The answer will likely be 'nothing at all'.
posted by Sparx at 12:54
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