HYPOCRISY????

Oh, come now! The good ole liberty-loving USA couldn't possibly be hypocritical. George Washington, Thomas Jefferson the slave-owning, daughter-selling "all men are created equal" founding father, the Christian hate-mongers and warriors, the democracy-loving congressmen who love lobbyists, the champions of college and professional athletics, the rich liberals, the millions and millions of income tax cheats and liars: they can't be hypocrites!

I would defend every last soul--if there is such--among them. Just because we execute a woman in Virginia is no reason we can't cry "shame!" at Iran for planning to execute a woman. Is a "lethal injection" any less humane than stoning? Does a human cringe more, cry more, curse more, hurt more being injected with a deadly poison or potion than by being hit with stones? Isn't death death? Isn't murder murder? Those Iranians! Who do they think they are, criticising us? Everything we do is right, and just, and proper. (Excuse me: can I add, just for my liberal heart's sake, "Screw the poor!")

How about the Pakistani woman sentenced to 86 years in prison--for allegedly shooting at US soldiers in Pakistan. Wait. We don't have soldiers in Pakistan, legally. Wait twice. Let's remember that the US has had her uncle and husband in its illegal concentration camp at Guantanamo Bay in Cubs for nine years--on "suspicion" of crimes that the US obviously can't prove or they would have brought them to trial. Wait a third time. This woman was kidnapped in Pakistan by the US.
And now she has been tried in a US kangaroo court, and convicted--of shooting at US soldiers operating illegally in Pakistan, which happens to be her country. Good for us! We are always right, no matter what we do. (We have nuclear bombs: and everybody had better remember that!)

We USers are a moral people. We believe strongly that we are right. We hate everybody who doesn't agree with us. We are confident that Jesus Christ approves of greed, and actually wrote in his famous gospels that greed and other kinds of violence are Christian virtues. We know that God blesses our abuse of other peoples.

I thank you for letting me say this. I know what I've said is true. All my rich and war-loving friends have been telling me so for years. And they aren't hypocrites.

With liberty and justice for all,

Bert Hornback