Most Americans probably wouldn't consider themselves knowledgeable about the War in Iraq. On any given day, ask an American citizen what we're doing there and they wouldn't have a clue.
But ask them how we got there and everyone will answer: George W. Bush. However, the commander in chief doesn't have magical powers. There is no magical wand he waves to make people elect and re-elect him and keep him in office. He holds power because of the law and also because of the people. Global and American politics are, or at the very least should be, more than a child's blame game. At least half, if not most, of the responsibility rests squarely on the shoulders of the American people.
Let me tell you why; first of all, the media that people receive is clearly filtered. Media certainly influences how people think and react to situations. And people make up and influence the media's content to a large extent. The media blindly followed the guidance of the government and entrusted them with the information on the fate of our country and even an additional country. Did the American people not ask questions or want answers?
No, they clearly did not.
This brings me to my second point; in general, the American people were and continue to be indifferent. The number of people in the U.S., or even the number of students on ASU's campus, who consider themselves informed about the War in Iraq is undoubtedly very few. I know a Marine who has served in the Middle East, and I know that every time someone nonchalantly jokes about "invading another country," she cringes. When did it become that simple? Well, it never did. We just made it seem so.
But the Iraq war is so complex, and the terrorist groups are so intricate and run so deep in Iraq that the Bush administration could clearly make neither head or tail of it. So we blame it on them. Shame on you, Bush administration, you brought us into this mess. Bush, why did you have to get us into this never-ending war? Why did you have to do it?
However, the plight of the American people is not that they have a bad president, but that they are immune to the plight of others. But the truth is, if someone in our class has a sibling in the war, or if even someone in the same neighborhood knows someone who is fighting for our country, fighting for us, we should be concerned. But we are not.
We don't begin to worry about such things until it comes into our homes and messes with our daily lives in a way that we can clearly see. As a nation, we are indifferent until our narrow sphere of influence becomes disturbed. Looking back on the election, presidency, re-election and continuing presidency of Bush, I cannot help but wonder how and why he is there. He surely doesn't have magical powers.
Or does he?
Dimple is a journalism freshman. You can reach her at dimpledhanani@gmail.com.
