No, Dorothy, we are not at war anymore.

The Bush administration insists that we are at war because he realizes he has to justify his abuses of power, and because it works politically. What a nation of sheep* we have become!

I yearn for a true patriot with a bottomless reservoir of courage who will make the case that we are NOT at war; we were at war in Iraq until we won and we are now an occupying force trying to defeat an insurgency. We are no more "at war" now than we were after V-J day.

If, on the other hand, the assertion that we are “at war” goes to the “war on terror,” then I guess it should also apply to the “war on drugs.” Then, in the unlikely event that Mr. Bush and his friends declare someday that terror is a thing of the past, the "war on drugs" will be a convenient rationale for continuing to cede to the President unchecked power.

But never mind; any even minimally informed citizen — including those who, unbelievably, still approve of the President's every word and deed — can figure out that the war on terror, like the war on drugs, has no end in sight.

I say we are NOT at war, and Bush is NOT a "war president." And I desperately wish the Democrats would make this point as relentlessly as Bush makes his. Else I fear we are doomed.

*Courtesy of The Constant Reader:

In an effort to influence our votes and our opinions, Congressmen--along with most other public servants--often forget that one of their primary functions is to inform the country about the conditions and problems of the nation; and to describe important issues so that we can understand them. It was because of this requirement that the post of "public information officer" (or public affairs officer or press attaché) was established.

However, in practice, public information officers have become prostituted. They have ceased serving you and me... Almost all of their energies and talents are spent keeping themselves and their bosses in power... In short, much of our government's energy is squandered in obtaining a pre-determined public opinion. Officials try by selective information releases to have us accept what they believe is proper; as if fearing the decisions we might make on our own if we had all of the truth.

The government has been shameless in its efforts to attract our attention to a particular point of view, and in this manner mold public opinion. We often are enmeshed into preconceived opinions by the very people we elect and support--the civil servants who are supposed to be doing what we want.

What is the result of all this? You and I are prisoners of our own government's self-generated publicity. Half the time we don't know what is really going on, and to find out we must apply the torch."

--William J. Lederer, from his book, A Nation Of Sheep (Greenwich: Fawcett). Published, incredibly, in 1961.