The Bush&Co's World Is a False Metaphor:
Using the exponential curve, common sense, and metaphors to make sense of our complex world
By Mario deSantis, October 19, 2006

"We can't tolerate a new terrorist state in the heart of the Middle East, with large oil reserves that could be used to fund its radical ambitions, or used to inflict economic damage on the West... By helping the Iraqis build a democracy -- an Iraqi-style democracy -- we will deal a major blow to terrorists and extremists. We'll bring hope to a troubled region. And we'll make this country more secure."-- president George Bush[1]

"The United States will preserve its rights, capabilities and freedom of action in space ... and deny, if necessary, adversaries the use of space capabilities hostile to US national interests."--National Space Policy[2]

I have collected different political and social articles I liked and I am trying to find a theme and write an article of my own. That is what I normally do, but not today. The collected articles cover many interrelated social events and they are a reflection of the complexity of the world we live in. We must try to learn on how to make sense of this complex world. I feel that since most physical and social phenomena follow a logarithmic or exponential curve then we must educate ourselves in applying the understanding of such curves to our physical and social phenomena. Pollution and environmental degradation come to my mind and so uranium radioactive depletion, or the growth of money held in a bank account[3].

We must also try to use our intelligent common sense and therefore find long term solutions to our social problems. In the US, the minimum wage has not changed for the last 10 years[4], the 'real' median wage income is less than it was a generation ago[5], and the average CEO compensation has increased about 20 times in the last some 20 years[6]. It is apparent that inequality has increased in the US, and yet this social inequality has not been legislatively addressed for a long time.

When Bush&Co took over the White House, there was neither a war in Iraq nor a war in Afghanistan and there was no Bush's “War on Terror.” Is it difficult to understand that Bush&Co are the main culprits of terrorism around the world? We become more intelligent as we learn how to use more and more metaphors[7] to understand our world, yet Bush&Co not only are unable to learn from our experiences but they use the false metaphor of “War on Terror” to respond to the 9/11 attacks [8]. And what kind of meaning flow from Bush&Co.'s language when vice-president Cheney says “If you look at the general overall situation [in Iraq], they [Iraqi Government] are doing remarkably well”? A reputable study published in the Lancet medical journal states that since Bush&Co liberated Iraq there have been 655,000 excess deaths[9]. In this regard, we can all ponder about the possible blowback[10] originating from these 655,000 excess deaths.

Is it difficult to understand that chronic US budget and trade deficits, that is living at the expense of other people and countries, are rooted in the supreme position of the US Dollar in international transactions[11] and in the 700 plus US military bases around the world[12]? How can Bush&Co say that the economy is good[13] while the US dollar robs poor countries[14] and the US military spreads American democracy around the world? Again, the metaphor that the American Dollar must be the supreme currency in international trade is a false metaphor, and the metaphor that US military bases must be spread across the world to spread democracy is a false metaphor as well.

Today, Bush&Co issued an executive order to unilaterally spread democracy in space as well, and again we have a false metaphor as Bush&Co get ready to weaponize space and defend it from their adversaries, which include 'rogue states,' bad guys,' 'evil-doers' and 'enemy combatants.' I cannot be that far off in saying that all the metaphors put forward by Bush&Co are all false!

Another world is not only possible, she's on her way[15] as we further our understanding of physical and social phenomena through the exponential curve, and as we re-learn how to speak more diligently with more common sense and more metaphors.

References

[1] Washington Times “The president's Iraq challenge — and ours”; Editorial, October 13, 2006 http://www.washtimes.com/op-ed/20061012-092911-9967r.htm

[2] Ahrari, Ehsan “US turns space into its colony”; Asia Times, October 20, 2006 http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Front_Page/HJ20Aa02.html

[3] deSantis, Mario “System Dynamics in Education: Commonality of Structure and Behaviour”; Ensign, March 29, 1999 http://www.desantis.hypermart.net/EnsignStories_001-100/Ensign_story041/story041.htm

[4] CBS News “Economists Group: Boost Minimum Wage”; October 11, 2006 http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2006/10/11/business/main2082810.shtml

[5] Warren, Elizabeth “The Middle Class on the Precipice: Rising financial risks for American families”; Harvard Magazine, January-February 2006 http://www.harvard-magazine.com/on-line/010682.html

[6] CNBC [Consumer News and Business Channel] with Tina Brown, March 14, 2004 http://www.pkarchive.org/economy/CNBCTopicA031404.html

[7] Wikipedia “Conceptual metaphor” http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conceptual_metaphor

[8] Soros, George “A Self-Defeating War”; Antiwar, October 17, 2006 http://www.antiwar.com/orig/soros.php?articleid=9873

[9] Boseley, Sarah “655,000 Iraqis killed since invasion”; The Guardian, October 11, 2006 http://www.guardian.co.uk/Iraq/Story/0,,1892888,00.html

[10] Wikipedia “Blowback (Intelligence)”; http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blowback_%28intelligence%29

[11] Engdahl, William F. “Crisis of the U.S. Dollar System”; Global Research, October 14, 2006 http://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=viewArticle&code=ENG20061014&articleId=3482

[12] Johnson, Chalmers “The Arithmetic of America's Military Bases Abroad: What Does It All Add Up to?” History News Network, January 19, 2004 http://hnn.us/articles/3097.html

[13] Lambro, Donald “The good news: the Bush economy”; The Washington Times, October 9, 2006 http://blogs.washingtontimes.com/insiderpolitics/?p=632

[14] Leal, Pablo “Global Poverty and Global Wealth: Two sides of same coin”; Z Magazine, October 2, 2006 http://www.zmag.org/content/showarticle.cfm?ItemID=11105

[15] Roy, Arundhati “COME SEPTEMBER”; lecture delivered on September 18, 2002 at the Lannan Foundation in Santa Fe, New Mexico, United States, http://www.hinduonnet.com/fline/fl1920/stories/20021011003106500.htm