Two Americans
Wednesday, February 21st, 2007Justin Whelan writes in (the excellent) New Matilda - a tale of Two Americans
Two very different Americans are arriving in Australia this week. The reception each will receive, and the messages they have for Australia, could not be more different
… One talks of world domination in the name of ‘Judeo-Christian values,’ the other talks about loving our enemies in the name of the crucified Jesus.
In the system of legal justice in place in the US, Dick Cheney’s alleged responsibility for war crimes goes unpunished, while John Dear’s non-violent protest against weapons of mass destruction has seen him do time in US Federal prison.
In the system of priorities in Australia, Dick Cheney will be warmly met by the Government, attract much media interest, and applauded by business leaders. John Dear will be met by Church leaders and thousands of ordinary people, but largely ignored as an irrelevant idealist by the mainstream media.
So there it is: two Americans in the same week: the ‘war criminal’ and the ‘peace criminal.’ One comes to preach war, the other comes to preach peace. The Government will listen to the man of war. Who are you going to listen to?
