Theater Of The Absurd

To the Editor:

The closer we get to election day, the more I feel like a character stuck in a bad movie — like David and Jennifer, played by Toby Maguire and Reese Witherspoon in the film “Pleasantville,” where two teenagers from the 1990s literally get sucked into the television as characters in a 1950s sitcom. For better or worse, they are a “typical” brother and sister, responding to the rapidly changing world where pop culture and technological innovations oblige adjustments to one’s environment and society at large. Then, “zap!” Without warning they are transported into an unfamiliar world, where everything is “perfect” and, ahem, in black and white.

Holy déjà vu, Batman! Does this sound familiar or what?

Black and white? (“You’re either with us or against us…”); Perfect world? (We are safer, things are gong as planned in Iraq, “Mission Accomplished,” Al Qaeda is being brought to justice, the economy is recovering, “No Child Left Behind” is working, Social Security is safe, etc.)

Pardon my disbelief, but there is absolutely no logical evidence that any of this is even close to the truth. We are awash in newspapers, magazines, journals, television reports, exposes, documentary films — you name it — that dispute, refute, contradict, deny, and challenge these “fairy tales” that have been presented to us as facts. Anyone who actually reads for information and is not walking around with blinders or his head in the sand can see that something is amiss here.

This election is not about whether or not John Kerry or George Bush will be a better leader for this country in the next four years. What it is about is the presidency of George W. Bush, who has presided over the most radical administration in our history. Forget the attempt to demonize the term “liberal” — which is what the Bush campaign is once again attempting to do. The policies and direction of the current administration is not conservative, as Bush, Cheney and Co would lead you to believe. In the recent issue of The American Conservative magazine, Scott McConnell writes, “The libertarian writer Lew Rockwell has mischievously noted parallels between Bush and Russia’s last tsar, Nicholas II: both gained office as a result of family connections, both initiated an unnecessary war that shattered their countries (sic) budgets…Bush has behaved like a caricature of what a right-wing president is supposed to be, and his continuation in office will discredit any sort of conservatism for generations.” McConnell goes on to write, “The only way Americans will have a presidency in which neoconservatives and the Christian Armageddon set are not holding the reins of power is if Kerry is elected.” And if you want to get really scared, check out the Theatre of the Absurd on Google and read about what we have become and where we are headed.

Prior to 2000, voter fraud on such a massive scale was not an issue on election day. While Democrats are reported to be registering voters in record numbers, the RNC is sending hundreds of agents to polling places to challenge voter credentials and hamstring the electoral process. Corporations control most of our media outlets, hence the information we receive is skewed at best from the previously untainted sources. Secrecy is the most important word in this administration. Most recently the release of the vitally important CIA report on 9/11 has been stalled, so Congress and the American public will not see it until after the election (and if Bush wins, perhaps no one will see the report).

Since the day Bush took office, protests have been abundant. Rather than a national celebration, there was a massive inaugural protest. No one can deny the country has never been so divided, nor has the world, thanks to the Bush administration. “United we stand, divided we fall,” has never had greater meaning than right now. Thanks to Bush, The United States of America is rapidly becoming The Untied States of America. I urge all people who love democracy, liberty, unity, and peace not to renew this president’s contract on November 2.

Michael Luzzi

173 Boggs Hill Road, Newtown                                 October 27, 2004