I Know How You Sleep At Night
I've often sat, lost in thought, trying to figure out how people like you can sleep at night. Because if I had done half the things you have, I don't think my guilt and shame would allow me the peace of a good night's rest ever again. Just thinking about the things you have done the last 6 years keeps me up at night, and I have no control over it whatsoever.
But that's not getting at the heart of my question; how do you sleep at night?
And one day while I was in the shower (of all places), it hit me. A bolt of realization as powerful as a slap to the face. It occured to me how easy it must be for you to go on with you life like there is nothing wrong, and the destruction you have left in your path never eats at you.
Not unlike Alfred E. Neuman, you have a, "what, me worry?" attitude. And it's not because you're ignorant or unaware of the things you've done. On the contrary, you are much smarter and more shrewd than most people give you credit for. And it wasn't until I reached my shampoo-induced epiphany that realization occured to me as well.
You can sleep at night because those close to you are safe. They sleep in their own beds, warm and content every night. They don't have to worry about mortar attacks killing them in their sleep. They need not fear the hellish nightmares of the things that they have seen and done over the course of the day eating at them.
And neither do you.
Your daughters are safe and sound, even if the DUI laws and pedestrians in their place of residence are not. Never will they have to worry about where their gasmasks are when a chemical attack alarm goes off. Never will they have to worry about being victim of an IED attack as they slue drunkenly down the road in their Mercedes Benzes. They won't ever have to gear up and get their precious little faces dirty with the grit and sand and blood of daddy's war.
Your wife is at your side and sleeping soundly next to you every night. She knows she'll never have to kiss you goodbye and march off to a plane ready to take her to a hostile environment for the next 12-to-18 months. She's ignorant of the fear of insurgent attack. She'll never have to see her own shattered limb being amputated in a field hospital. And she'll never come home in a box draped with an American flag.
Your friends are safe, too. They eat from your trough, patting you on the back and telling you what a great job you're doing. When you make a mistake, they're there to cover for you. They might not fall on an enemy grenade for you, but they'll take the blame when you err. When all us ungrateful, impatient and hateful people are calling you out on your policies and outright lies, they're there for you. And they always will be, so long as you keep making them rich and as long as those you lord over stay apathetic.
Except that one fellow. The one who dropped you like a bad habit when the finger was pointed at him over your justifications for war. Remember him? Does his defection bother you, I wonder? I don't think it does. There's still plenty more to take his place. People who won't ever turn their backs on you, no matter what raw deal you stick them with. Or so long as you give their business interests huge no-bid contracts.
But what about the hungry children living in the streets right here in your own nation? Who's there to bring democracy to them? Who's there to protect them? What about our floundering economy? What about our inability to even beging to attempt to control the damage this nation is doing to the environment? What about the outsourcing of jobs? What about the outlandish price of designer medication? What about... what about...
"Hush, my fellow Americans," you say with confidence and a slight good 'ol boy grin, "look what we're doing in another country. We're so great. We're so wonderful. We're bringing democracy to those that never asked for it. And if you keep asking me questions like the ones above, I'll have you dissappeared and locked away in a cell so dark, you'll be convinced your underground."
And the old saying is true - no matter what the reality of the situation, if you keep telling yourself it's not so bad eventually you start to believe it. You've started believing your own ridiculous assertations. You go through your days with blinders on, oblivious to the real problems we face right here at home.
And that, sir, is how you sleep at night.
If this weren't reality, what a fantastically tragic Shakespearian character you'd make. The little dictator, convinced his unbending, unyeilding way is the right one, consequences be damned. I'm just not so sure I want to be there for the final act. What may happen before the last curtain is anyone's guess at this point. Most of are pretty sure it's going to be pretty bad. But, tragically as well, we sit and marvel at the spectacle, doing nothing to alter it's course. This, despite supposedly having the power to do so. The audience can't tear their eyes away. And you continue to sleep at night.
Safe and sound. Just like those you love.
I've often sat, lost in thought, trying to figure out how people like you can sleep at night. Because if I had done half the things you have, I don't think my guilt and shame would allow me the peace of a good night's rest ever again. Just thinking about the things you have done the last 6 years keeps me up at night, and I have no control over it whatsoever.
But that's not getting at the heart of my question; how do you sleep at night?
And one day while I was in the shower (of all places), it hit me. A bolt of realization as powerful as a slap to the face. It occured to me how easy it must be for you to go on with you life like there is nothing wrong, and the destruction you have left in your path never eats at you.
Not unlike Alfred E. Neuman, you have a, "what, me worry?" attitude. And it's not because you're ignorant or unaware of the things you've done. On the contrary, you are much smarter and more shrewd than most people give you credit for. And it wasn't until I reached my shampoo-induced epiphany that realization occured to me as well.
You can sleep at night because those close to you are safe. They sleep in their own beds, warm and content every night. They don't have to worry about mortar attacks killing them in their sleep. They need not fear the hellish nightmares of the things that they have seen and done over the course of the day eating at them.
And neither do you.
Your daughters are safe and sound, even if the DUI laws and pedestrians in their place of residence are not. Never will they have to worry about where their gasmasks are when a chemical attack alarm goes off. Never will they have to worry about being victim of an IED attack as they slue drunkenly down the road in their Mercedes Benzes. They won't ever have to gear up and get their precious little faces dirty with the grit and sand and blood of daddy's war.
Your wife is at your side and sleeping soundly next to you every night. She knows she'll never have to kiss you goodbye and march off to a plane ready to take her to a hostile environment for the next 12-to-18 months. She's ignorant of the fear of insurgent attack. She'll never have to see her own shattered limb being amputated in a field hospital. And she'll never come home in a box draped with an American flag.
Your friends are safe, too. They eat from your trough, patting you on the back and telling you what a great job you're doing. When you make a mistake, they're there to cover for you. They might not fall on an enemy grenade for you, but they'll take the blame when you err. When all us ungrateful, impatient and hateful people are calling you out on your policies and outright lies, they're there for you. And they always will be, so long as you keep making them rich and as long as those you lord over stay apathetic.
Except that one fellow. The one who dropped you like a bad habit when the finger was pointed at him over your justifications for war. Remember him? Does his defection bother you, I wonder? I don't think it does. There's still plenty more to take his place. People who won't ever turn their backs on you, no matter what raw deal you stick them with. Or so long as you give their business interests huge no-bid contracts.
But what about the hungry children living in the streets right here in your own nation? Who's there to bring democracy to them? Who's there to protect them? What about our floundering economy? What about our inability to even beging to attempt to control the damage this nation is doing to the environment? What about the outsourcing of jobs? What about the outlandish price of designer medication? What about... what about...
"Hush, my fellow Americans," you say with confidence and a slight good 'ol boy grin, "look what we're doing in another country. We're so great. We're so wonderful. We're bringing democracy to those that never asked for it. And if you keep asking me questions like the ones above, I'll have you dissappeared and locked away in a cell so dark, you'll be convinced your underground."
And the old saying is true - no matter what the reality of the situation, if you keep telling yourself it's not so bad eventually you start to believe it. You've started believing your own ridiculous assertations. You go through your days with blinders on, oblivious to the real problems we face right here at home.
And that, sir, is how you sleep at night.
If this weren't reality, what a fantastically tragic Shakespearian character you'd make. The little dictator, convinced his unbending, unyeilding way is the right one, consequences be damned. I'm just not so sure I want to be there for the final act. What may happen before the last curtain is anyone's guess at this point. Most of are pretty sure it's going to be pretty bad. But, tragically as well, we sit and marvel at the spectacle, doing nothing to alter it's course. This, despite supposedly having the power to do so. The audience can't tear their eyes away. And you continue to sleep at night.
Safe and sound. Just like those you love.
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YES~!