Yesterday, President Bush closed his speech to the employees of the spanking new Homeland Security Department with these words, "There is no doubt in my mind that this nation will prevail in this war against terror, because we're the greatest nation, full of the finest people, on the face of this earth. " I wonder how the rest of the world feels? Such superlatives leave little room for sharing among the rest for any honor or value. It is any wonder so many people hate the U. S.? In a few short phrases, Bush has managed to relegate the intellectual, moral and cultural contributions of 130 nations, many of which are much older than the U. S. to second-class status. Kenneth Burke's notion of division is useful for explaining the increasing isolation of the U.S. from the populations of nations across the globe. Although governments for reasons of realpolitik may align themselves with the American agenda in the Middle East (e.g. Britain for apparently ideological reasons; or Saudi Arabia for numerous economic and political reasons; Turkey--most likely--for economic and geographic payoffs), the people of these countries recognize the very powerful divisive terms of his phrases. In 2001, Bush divided the world into those who either for us or against us--and some for a time were for us. However, he now has divided us from all others in terms of value and power. There is no "coaltion" embedded in his phrase. Britain is not part of the U.S. and has no claim to the greatness the Bush has claimed--everyone is excluded from goodness by decree. While we may occupy the pinnicle of power in military and economic might at this point in time, in Burkeian terms, I think it is safe to argue that we are "guilty" when it comes to moral action.

A story dated February 7, 2003 from the Center for Public Integrity (in the Public i section, titled, Justice Dept. Drafts Sweeping Expansion of Anti-Terrorism Act) provides another piece of the mosaic of secrecy by the Bush administration while it seeks increasing amounts of information about citizens.

The Domestic Security Enhancement Act of 2003 (or Patriot II) has been circulating among Bush’s top staffers while they continue to disavow knowledge of its existence. According to the Center for Public Integrity, " Senior members of the Senate Judiciary Committee minority staff have inquired about Patriot II for months and have been told as recently as this week that there is no such legislation being planned. "

Public Integrity has obtained a copy and made it available at: http://www.publicintegrity.org/dtaweb/downloads/Story_01_020703_Doc_1.pdf.

Read it and weep.