Leave me where I am, I'm only sleeping

There's a tag Robert Lifton uses to describe the deadened feelings and "paralysis of the mind" that I think applies to so many of us, especially here in the U.S. He calls it "psychic numbing".

While psychic numbing may not cause wars or stolen elections, it probably contributes to our acceptance of 'em. Hence, the fact that once started, war pretty much becomes 'no big deal'. This is particularly true of our current wars which require no sacrifice from the civilian population other than the forgoing of more and better schools for our kids, medical care for every American, better highways, national parks, and salvation of a huge amount of our international goodwill, etc. And cost is no obstacle. Our kids and their kids can pay for it. That is, IF there's still a world.

Similarly, a stolen election or two goes unchallenged as soon as the thieves have successfully culminated the theft.

We are psychically numbed.

In a recent poll, a majority of Americans still believe torture is justified in some cases! Despite the horrendous photos, the unreliability of information gathered by such means, most think it's still okay! Just more evidence of psychic numbing.

And never mind that Bush and Cheney used phony intel derived from torture. (Most likely knowingly and intentionally, since their mideast ambitions for the New American Century justifying these wars were planned back in the previous century--right, Paul Wolfowitz?) And thanks to psychic numbing, that bogus intel now has nearly 2,200 American families gravely affected because of loved ones lost to it. But that's a yawner. Unless, of course, one of those lost 2,200 belonged to you.

And never mind the thousands more who will return as GI's disabled, with post tramautic stress disorder, or their offspring who will be born deformed because of Daddy or Mommy's wartime exposure to depleted uranium weapons they were assured were safe by their government but weren't.

Never mind our venerated Henry Kissinger said after the Vietnam war: “Military men are just dumb stupid animals to be used as pawns in foreign policy.” Thousands have died and suffered since, despite his admission. Psychic numbing.

And so it goes. The violation of international wartime treaties is received by citizens with insouciance. Just like our rumping of environmental ones.

Outing a CIA agent at the risk of her and her contact's lives is a yawner, despite being a traitorous crime.

And then there's the prescription healthcare program's cost intentionally understated by billions of dollars by the administration. It heaps huge windfall profits into the laps of pharmaceuticals and HMO's while the supposed "beneficiaries" are left scratching their heads in total confusion trying to understand it.

The list goes on and on. But that's okay. Psychic numbing is the catalytic enabler of government to continue committing atrocity after atrocity upon the very people it supposedly represents and protects.

Speaking of protection, one need look no further than Katrina to witness a wake-up call for many formerly lulled citizens. Sadly, a number of those awoken are now dead. They died knowing they could not depend on their government to come to their aid. Or expect their government to even give a shit.

Why even the media showed signs of life for a week or two in Katrina's wake. Certainly it shook the government enough to put a "we care" spin on evidence to the contrary. Witness Bush traveling around the country campaigning again. I guess it's working. His approval ratings are on the rise. All part of our collective psychic numbness?

So, what's inspired this rant? For that, I'll credit Seymore Hersch. I watched him on a panel on C-Span this weekend.

Hersch was describing the U.S. air war against Iraq. He cited the claims of one U.S. Marine air wing: In one 15 month period they dropped 500,000 tons of ordinance. Assuming most are 500 lb. bombs, according to Hersch, that would amount to 2 million bombs!

Keep in mind, the above figure is just from one Marine air-wing. There are carrier based Navy bombs and Air Force bombs being dropped in addition. And, per Hersch, the majority of these weapons are dropped in urban areas.

Do you ever wonder why every image coming out of Iraq is shot with a background of rubble that was once a school, hospital, neighborhood or city? Urban bombing explains this. But we can't blame our psychic numbness on this. That's because our media aren't reporting this aspect of the war.

But now that it's coming to light, I don't think it matters. No outpouring of shame. No outrage. Oh, maybe if, instead, it were Milwaukee, Omaha, Atlanta, Portland, the Bay Area, Dallas and Boston in ruins, heaps of rubble....maybe we'd awaken? Maybe we'd know outrage? But it's not.

We're talking Iraq here. The country with no connection to 9/11. No connection to Al Qaeda. No WMD's. Just a pack of lies that took us there. Just a pack of lies that levelled it. Just a pack of lies that killed thousands of Americans and Iraqis.

Just hit the snooze button.

In the words of the Beatles:

Please don't wake me, no
don't shake me
Leave me where I am
I'm only sleeping

Such is our state of collective psychic numbness, I guess.