Countdown to impeachment

It seems safe to say that the downfall phase of the Bush crime family has finally begun. George W. Bush himself doesn't seem to be able to do anything right, and reports of his resumed drinking have begun to appear. His "subordinates" don't look to be doing any better, with indictments of advisor Karl Rove and others in his gang likely any day now. The word "impeachment" is being mentioned more as each day passes.

This was inevitable. I admit to having some doubts from time-to-time, but there have been too many things that are way too criminal about this regime for it to last a full eight years, to say nothing of the planned worldwide empire that would last until at least the end of the century (See previous posting).

Though the "treasongate" fiasco is the proximate cause for the collapse of the BCF (Bush crime family), other criminalities would eventually catch up with them. Cronyism, September 11, 2001, the Iraq war, Hurricane Katrina, the Cheney task force on energy, the two stolen elections, the Enron-California energy scam, Abu Ghraib, Guantanamo, the excesses of the Patriot Act, DeLay, Abramoff, and numerous other criminal activities either actively pursued or suborned - one or all of these together would eventually cause the Bush gang to implode.

What we should be doing at this point, along with keeping the pressure on our various institutions of government and news media, is figuring out where we go from here. Do we want to keep New Orleans, rebuild it, and prevent another Katrina debacle? Do we want to save the rest of the country from a similar fate? Do we want a foreign policy that respects the sovereignty of other countries, and that lives up to high standards of human decency? Do we want an ecosystem that supports human and other forms of life for generations to come? Do we want an economic system that answers the questions of what, how, and for whom in a civilized way? One that respects and fosters the aspirations of all people to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness? Do we want an information system that is not hostage to the whims and control of moneyed interests? Do we want a social policy that is based on a genuine contract beween the citizenry and the government? Do we want a society where spiritual practice is based on pursuit of connection with the Divine, or do we want to have a system where the phoniest hucksters we can find are anointed as representatives of "God" on Earth?

These are questions we all have to ponder and find a way of answering. Otherwise, we will have an endless succession of Bush crime families running things. Half the American population has been more than willing to put crooks in office time after time. It was obvious from the get-go what we were getting and going to get with Bush. He appealed to the country's darkest nature, and the country rewarded him with two terms in office. The elections of 2000 and 2004 may have been stolen, but they weren't stolen by much.

We don't have a way, at this point, of talking meaningfully about the difficulties we face. As I have written before in this blog and elsewhere, the old divide of "left" versus "right" is not only a meaningless metaphor that is mistaken for fact, it is an impediment to dialogue and progress. People are required to take "sides" on every "issue," guaranteeing a polarization. What ends up happening is that grandstanders and opportunists seize the stage, and the forum is corrupted.

If we can look at human existence as something greater than one "side" or the "other," then maybe we can find a way to better our condition. I have mentioned before that Abraham Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs is a much more appropriate way of looking at human aspiration and interaction. Improvements on his hierarchy are starting to appear, outlined in "A Hierarchy of Consciousness" by Stephen Kiesling.

We have some blame to dish out. But if all we have is blame, we're doomed. We need a clear vision of where we want to go as a species, and what it will take to get there. One thing that can be said for sure is that we won't get there if we have no idea of what "there" is, and we had better make sure everyone is included in the journey. We could easily do worse next time.