Bush and the Invisible Alien Theory
Evidence, Absence of Evidence and Evidence of the Absence of Sense
by PAUL DEAN
My father was a scientist. His field was plant pathology, but his interest
in life led him to explore a broad range of subjects. In the months
immediately prior to his death, he wrote an essay titled "How the World
Works." It was his attempt to clarify some thoughts on issues which had
been reverberating around his brain for a lifetime. It was also, in a
sense, an examination of the scientific process itself.
Of particular interest to me was a section examining the concept of
'evidence'. It was a discussion that revolves around questions such as:
What is evidence? How do we identify it? What process do we use to identify
information or assertions which are advanced as evidence, but really are no
such thing?
Not so surprisingly, as a scientist, my father placed a great value upon
what is called empirical evidence: things that can be directly perceived
using the senses. This does not mean that we cannot infer the existence of
things that we cannot see directly. It simply means that we rely on
empirical evidence whenever and wherever it exists, as the most reliable
source of information. It implies that when we do infer the existence of
something we cannot directly observe, that somewhere along the line,
evidence that we can see, hear, feel, taste or smell must lead us to that
inference.
My father's essay contains an argument that is much more elaborate, and
more elegant than anything I could possibly present here. But the
underlying point is very simple. Essentially, he concludes that beliefs for
which there is no credible evidence, either to support or deny, are, at the
least, a waste of time.
For example, one could theorize that invisible aliens are among us always,
but, being inhabitants of another dimension, we cannot perceive them with
our senses. This is theoretically possible, but it might not be wise to
expend a large amount of energy considering this particular possibility. If
I say that I believe it to be true, no one can prove me wrong. But I cannot
prove it to be true, either. Therefore, the whole exercise is apparently
futile.
I am sure this all sounds trite, and the point may appear obvious when put
this way. But such logic is an empty exercise, and of no consequence, only
when we do not act on the basis of beliefs which are arrived at by a
process similar to the above example. Unfortunately, things that are much
worse than a waste of time, can result from the formation of beliefs which
are supported by no evidence whatsoever, then go the further step of
undertaking decisive action which is guided by those beliefs.
The absurd and frightening truth is that those that have seized power in
this country, are asking us not only to believe, but to act on beliefs,
which are the intellectual equivalent of the 'invisible alien theory'
described above.
To make matters worse, corporate media sources are failing to analyze the
twisted pretzel logic that this administration serves them daily. In so
doing, questionable assumptions which are not questioned become accepted as
valid, by sheer weight of repetition. Subsequent 'evidence' is then pointed
to that can only be considered evidence if we accept as a foundation the
questionable assumptions that preceded them. In this way, ideas that are
clearly absurd and illogical can become commonly accepted and be discussed
as if they were perfectly logical.
For example, the American press, many Americans, and even highly skeptical
leaders of foreign countries, such as France and Germany, claim to be
awaiting evidence that Iraq possesses 'weapons of mass destruction'.
Apparently, the fundamental, accepted premise is that if and when we are
presented with solid evidence that Iraq has such weapons, we will consent
to, or participate in, an attack using our own weapons of mass destruction.
Nothing serves to illustrate the absurdity of this discourse more than the
premise that discovery of hidden weapons is equivalent to finding a
"smoking gun." The usual event that triggers the search for a smoking gun,
is a loud bang, immediately followed by a victim falling over while blood
spurts everywhere. If inspectors do find hidden weapons in the desert, they
almost certainly will not be smoking. If they were, there would be no need
for inspectors in the first place, because we could infer the existence of
weapons of mass destruction by observing the mass destruction itself. In
effect, we have surrounded Iraq and trained our guns on them, while a
search is underway to determine if they too, have guns. If the Bush
administration can make enough people believe that they have guns, this
logic assumes that we will be justified in using our guns on them.
Another assumption, also unexamined in all of this, is that there exists
(and somehow only in the arsenals of certain "evildoers") something called
"weapons of mass destruction." These are referred to more specifically as
"chemical or biological" weapons. These weapons include anthrax and other
biological germ agents, as well as various types of poison gas. Nuclear
weapons may be included in this category, but only when they are in the
possession of bad men that our leaders don't like. Nice fellows, like Ariel
Sharon, can have extensive nuclear arsenals, and so can we, but in our
hands, these weapons are acceptable and necessary.
The anthrax that killed Americans after Sept. 11th, is presumed to have
been stolen from American bio-warfare labs. It has also been widely
reported that most of Saddam's Hussein's really evil weapons, including his
stock of anthrax, and the chemical pesticides which were a key ingredient
of Saddam's famous poison gas, were supplied by US corporations with the
knowledge and consent of our government, at a time when we knew for certain
that he was using them to "gas his own people." But now we are expected to
accept as logical, that if we suspect the existence of such weapons in the
arsenals of our enemies, we somehow have a moral imperative, not only to
seize and destroy those weapons, but to conquer and occupy their countries
and depose their leaders. Unless the country in question has a big army and
nuclear weapons like North Korea. In that case, we talk, but don't
negotiate, with them.
And what weapons will we use to rid the world of "the worlds worst
weapons?" Entirely wholesome and respectable depleted uranium ordinance,
made in the USA.. Chemically toxic, and with a radioactive half life of 4.5
billion years, these weapons are the most likely cause of the huge increase
of cancer and birth defects in Iraq since the they were used
indiscriminately in the first Gulf War.
Further, the Bush regime would have us believe that if Saddam were to use
his terrible weapons against our invading armies, we would be justified in
using our own nuclear weapons against him. In the history of warfare, no
single weapon has proved more deadly than a nuclear bomb. We Americans have
already used nuclear bombs twice, on a civilian population. But through a
long chain of severely twisted logic, we are asked to conclude that we
would not only be justified, but that we have a responsibility, to use
nukes again, in order to prevent really bad weapons from being used.
These few examples are indicative of a consistent pattern. In the hands of
ideologically driven imperialist psychopaths, logic, reason and evidence
are mere words devoid of any meaning. The Bush administration uses them to
create the pretense of serious intellectual processes, so that they can
justify the pursuit of an agenda that is motivated by blind ambition and
unbridled greed. The actual "logic" that they employ, is essentially
identical to that of the famous Sesame Street character, Cookie Monster.
Cookie Monster was motivated by a desire to grab and eat cookies. If he saw
a cookie, he grabbed it and ate it, regardless of who owned it. This was
his basic nature. But, unlike the Bush regime, he saw no need to explain,
justify, rationalize or provide evidence to make it appear that his greed
was noble.
Bush, unfortunately, is not a cute and cuddly character on a TV show
intended for children. His ambitions will only be realized by mass
destruction on a scale that may spiral completely out of control. Should he
actually undertake this unprovoked war of aggression, he will certainly
kill hundreds of thousands of people, and spread deadly toxins far and wide
that will persist in our environment for billions of years. These toxins
will be carried by the winds, creating misery and suffering in children and
adults, for perhaps thousands of generations.
Most Americans know about Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld's ludicrous
statement that absence of evidence, in the search for weapons in Iraq,
"does not mean evidence of absence." Of course what he meant, was that we
should take the fact that no evidence exists to confirm our suspicions
about Iraqi weapons, as evidence that confirms our suspicions about Iraqi
weapons. Failure to find evidence confirming the existence of weapons in
this case may not be conclusive evidence that Iraq does not still possess
some of the weapons that we sold them. But by no stretch of the imagination
can failure to find such weapons be construed as a rational justification
for allowing psychotic warmongers to unleash wholesale mechanized slaughter
against a sovereign foreign nation.
And for all of Bush's tough talk about the necessity for war, it should not
be forgotten that he himself, along with Cheney and Rumsfeld, did not seize
the opportunity to personally go to war during the Vietnam conflict. It's
further alleged that he went AWOL (away without official leave) for about a
year, in 1972-73, before completion of his six year tour of duty in the Air
National Guard. It should be a simple matter to confirm or deny these
allegations, but unfortunately, the evidence, in the form of his military
records, is 'missing.' Since an exemplary military record is known to be of
great value for any politician, it is logical to assume that, in this case,
the absence of evidence, with regards to his military career, provides us
with evidence of his absence.
Paul Dean is an activist and bass player with the band Blusion. This
article was originally published by the excellent Dissident Voice. He lives
in Sebastopol, CA. Email: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
http://www.counterpunch.org/dean02052003.html
