A Too-Complex Life

The Daily Dish has been covering the tenure of Joe Arpaio, Sherriff of Maricopa County, Arizona. For those who don't know him, his Wiki page is here.

Today, the Dish has run a series of letters from current and former county residents relating stories about how Joe, as corrupt and morally repugnant he is, gets reelected time and time again because of how he enforces the laws and how people perceive his ability to deter crime.

A particularly telling passage, for me, is this:

There are some people who are focused only on ends. It's not about what Joe Arpaio does. It's why he does it. And to these people, a man who won't stop at degradation and home invasion to keep illegal immigrants out of the country is a patriot, and nothing less.

And this:

Sheriff Joe's whole shtick is about how tough he is on crime. And my parents don't really care about the particulars of how that happens. To them, stories of immigrants skirting the law or committing crimes are tragedies that must be stopped. And just how Palin's supporters rally behind her more as people point out her mistakes and shortcomings, people like my parents rally around Joe the more it seems he's being ganged-up on.

I, along with practically every other blogger I read, have relentlessly condemned the Bush regime's torture policies and have called Obama to account for allowing some of what Bush implemented to continue (like Bagram and certain rendition policies). But, over and over again, I have read letters, heard comments, and had discussions with people who simply don't give a shit what is done to safeguard their way of life.

I could point to ignorance (I have), to fear (that too), to racism (which encompasses fear and ignorance), and to ideological/religious absolutism (my favorite targets) as the primary culprits for why people in America have so totally abandoned their love of freedom that they would even forego their own Constitutional rights if it meant that a terrorist attack would be averted. Well, I hate to break it to them, but Ben Franklin was right: "Those who would give up essential liberty to purchase a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety." (In my search for that quote, I also came across this gem from Gen. Douglas MacArthur: "There is no security on this earth; there is only opportunity."

After all the analysis is done, however, in the end I think it comes down to one essential truth: for too many people, life has become too complex. There are too many grey areas that make it increasingly difficult to make a black-and-white decision. So, if oil prices are too high, the "Drill baby, drill!" If Iran has a nuclear program, then it's "Attack!" If the government wants to expand health care, then it's "Keep your government hands off my Medicare!". If a Muslim is in our custody, he must know something, so torture him till he talks.

We don't want to have to consider the implications of our actions when delaying even a brief moment might mean an interruption to our way of life. This is why Bush told us, right after 9/11 and once the massive airline disruption ended, to go shopping and live our lives normally. Granted there is some therapeutic value to doing just that, but in that single but profound act of denial that something is fundamentally wrong if Muslims want so badly to kill innocent American civilians, I think we set a dangerous pathology on course to cause massive, collective delusion. I think America as a country is suffering from PTSD! But the more we try to deny our malady by ignoring the means to get to the ends, the more polarized our country becomes.

And it isn't as simple as the left wants to "Blame America First" and the right is always "America, right or wrong." I think we all recognize that the issue is complicated and that there are numerous layers of realities, all of which require some attention. The difference, I believe, is that some charged ahead with eyes wide open, and some did so with them clamped shut, screaming and slashing with all their might in a vain attempt to take out as many of them before they got to us. We all know which side led the way for the past eight years; how safe do you truly feel?

There just is no turning back to when things were easier and simpler.