Joseph L. Kagle, Jr. Essays

I Have Found the Weapons of Mass Destruction

In the American War in Iraq, the brightest and best of our scientists and military leaders have searched high, low, over, under, through and across the land without finding the “smoking gun” , “the weapons of mass destruction”, that justified the Administration’s War. The call to arms against these WMD was highlighted with speeches, threats and promises. Not finding them, our leader’s tactic is shifting the dialogue toward “the importance of Iraq in our war on terrorism”, linking Hussein with the 9/11 fanatics. This new call to help the Administration’s War will cost America multiple billions now which will be added to the 2004 deficit of $480,000,000,000. That is an internal, long-term weapon of mass destruction.

Well, I have found some other weapons of mass destruction but not in Iraq. They are:

 No planning for the peace process, although the war was well researched (seven months of planning for the war but only 28 days for the process after the fighting was supposed  to stop). In keeping with this lack of planning, there was no initial patience for diplomacy, playing out the difficult job of getting major United Nations collaboration (getting important nations in the Middle East and the world to join forces). This leave us going now to the UN with hat in hand, asking for help since over 70% of our military is deployed abroad in a defense of our country.

 There has been doctored reports, such as those to the workers at Ground Zero of the 9/11 disaster, changed by our administration to politicize a message. Nikki Tinsley, the top watchdog of the Environmental Protection Agency, says that the final press release to the public was not just misleading but “It was surely not telling all the truth” when it reassured New Yorkers that “their air is safe to breath.” One example of this deception is changing the wording of the EPA’s report on September 16 from the EPA saying: “Recent samples of dust…on Water Street show higher levels of asbestos” to an administration version stating: “New samples confirm…ambient air quality meets OSHA (government) standards”…and “is not a cause for public concern.” Why all this deception? Tinsley says, “We were told that a desire to reopen Wall Street and national security concerns were the reasons for changing the press releases.” In a democracy, truth is what freedom is built upon and any deception by our government and leaders undermines that freedom. As a Rotarian, I search for the “truth” when it can be found.  

 Learning, versus testing and doctored statistics, is a major problem. An uneducated population is a major weapon for mass destruction of America. There is plenty of rhetoric about “Leave No Child Behind” and yet as David Orr comments: In a democracy…”If education is the solution, what is the problem? For many, the answer is transparently obvious: to prepare young people for careers in the global economy, working for one corporate behemoth or another. This is certainly true of the conversation about education presently taking place in the United States, which is long on performance standards and testing and short on how to encourage critical thinking, creativity, and ecological awareness. The ‘solution’ is to fill every nook and cranny of the school with computers. The naiveté of this view is quite touching and wrong-headed. But this whittled-down version of education is also convenient to those whose interests are well served by a docile, but technically competent public, otherwise unable to think critically or to act as citizens.” 

 If over 50% of Americans are overweight and obese, then pounds are certainly much more dangerous to national security than bombs. Those inner tubes around our middles are real weapons of mass destruction.

 In the same sensitive vein, America’s voting record is destroying Jefferson’s idea that an educated, informed public is the best defense against a flawed democracy. In the 2000 federal elections, only 51.3 % of the voting age population cast a ballot for anyone. Of the 205,815,000 voting age population, only 156,421,311 registered (76 %) and of those only 105,421,311 voted.  In local elections, the average voting statistics are less than 30% (against those eligible to vote).

So I have found six weapons of mass destruction without leaving my easy chair. Can you add to this list of no leadership in planning for a peaceful world, deception and lies at the highest levels, a record breaking deficit, testing and standards without real learning or understanding of the educational process needed for the 21^st century, and most devastating to national security, a fat, docile and indifferent America?