The U.S Can't Have It Both Ways -- By Andrew Sullivan

"Once you trash the international system, declare yourself above the law and even the most basic of international conventions against war crimes, you have forfeited the kind of moral authority that the US once had. Bush and his cronies speak as if none of this has happened."

That's what burns Me the most. For most of My life, as the formative vision of society I grew up with, the U.S. of part of A. was not perfect, but it stood for higher ideals. Yes, there was racism, but there was wide-ranging effort to minimize and even abolish it. Yes there were conflicts, but more than just lip service was paid to values and moral standards. And when a President transgressed the law, the world watched--in shock and awe--as what would have been a non-issue anywhere else got Nixon booted out of office.

Now what do We have? A blithering criminal--military slacker, business failure, drunkard--leading a pack of the most insidious vermin in U.S. history. And why are they the worst? Because their actions have undermined the U.S. in every aspect possible: Political, economic, social and moral.

Can the U.S. of part of A. say "We are above that" to torture? To false imprisonment? To human rights violations? To open political machinations? Can the U.S. of part of A. point to its own Constitution and say "It stands as a beacon of human dignity," when the murderous moron in the Oval Office is on record as saying he "wipes his ass" with it? Can the U.S. of part of A. stand on the world stage and say "Be like us" and not have most of the world roar back "Hell no!"?

That's what pisses Me off the most, that the country that--despite its mistakes and flaws--could claim to "Be above that" could consistently make that claim be worthy of respect. And now, the U.S. of part of A. is anything but above anything: In fact, it is only beneath--contempt.