Hi. I've received urgent pleas to make calls and write letters to various authorities
to allow Ralph Nader into the presidential debates. This notice about tonight's
program puts things into the larger perspective Democrats have to confront. That is,
the issue goes way beyond Nader and into an ominous decline in democracy abetted by
their Party and candidate. I hope you will not avoid this painful issue, watch the
show and do the right thing. We have to live after November 2nd and a movement for
democracy cannot be put on and off like a coat. 'They' wear permanent armor and will
incorporate this development into every area of speech and discourse they can. Keep
in mind how Bush has used Kerry's Iraq votes and have no illusions about what this
portends. And the promoter in me asks how long do you think the broad public will
listen even to the first debate before surfing? You better believe the right loves
that thought.
Ed
Staging the Presidential Debates
NOW with Bill Moyers
t r u t h o u t | Programming Note
PBS Airdate: Friday 24 September 2004
Check local listings at http://www.pbs.org/now/sched.html.
Presidential debates can change the course of elections, but George Farah, a
remarkable young author and executive director of Open Debates, has evidence showing
that the debates' rules of order have been hijacked by the two main political parties.
The result? Moderators can't ask follow-up questions, important issues are never
raised, and credible third-party candidates are excluded from the proceedings
altogether. On Friday, September 24, 2004 at 9 p.m. on PBS (check local listings), NOW
with Bill Moyers details the secretive process by which the party handlers ensure
there won't be a substantive discussion of the issues at what are, for many voters,
the most important events of the campaign.
-------
LA Times, September 24, 2004
It's All Greek, to Him
By Barbara Garson, Barbara Garson is the author of the 1960s antiwar play "Macbird"
and, most recently, "Money Makes the World Go Round" (Penguin, 2002).
During a lull in the war between Athens and Sparta, the Athenians decided to invade
and occupy Sicily. Thucydides tells us in "The Peloponnesian War" that "they were, for
the most part, ignorant of the size of the island and the numbers of its inhabitants .
and they did not realize that they were taking on a war of almost the same magnitude
as their war against the Peloponnesians."
According to Thucydides, the digression into Sicily in 416 BC - a sideshow that
involved lying exiles, hopeful contractors, politicized intelligence, a doctrine of
preemption - ultimately cost Athens everything, including its democracy.
Nicias, the most experienced Athenian general, had not wanted to be chosen for the
command. "His view was that the city was making a mistake and, on a slight pretext
which looked reasonable, was in fact aiming at conquering the whole of Sicily - a
considerable undertaking indeed," wrote Thucydides.
Nicias warned that it was the wrong war against the wrong enemy and that the Athenians
were ignoring their real enemies - the Spartans - while creating new enemies
elsewhere. "It is senseless to go against people who, even if conquered, could not be
controlled," he argued.
Occupying Sicily would require many soldiers, Nicias insisted, because it meant
establishing a new government among enemies. "Those who do this [must] either become
masters of the country on the very first day they land in it, or be prepared to
recognize that, if they fail to do so, they will find hostility on every side."
The case for war, meanwhile, was made by the young general Alcibiades, who was hoping
for a quick victory in Sicily so he could move on to conquer Carthage. Alcibiades,
who'd led a dissolute youth (and who happened to own a horse ranch, raising Olympic
racers) was a battle-tested soldier, a brilliant diplomat and a good speaker. (So much
for superficial similarities.)
Alcibiades intended to rely on dazzling technology - the Athenian armada - instead of
traditional foot soldiers. He told the Assembly he wasn't worried about Sicilian
resistance because the island's cities were filled with people of so many different
groups. "Such a crowd as this is scarcely likely either to pay attention to one
consistent policy or to join together in concerted action.. The chances are that they
will make separate agreements with us as soon as we come forward with attractive
suggestions."
Another argument for the war was that it would pay for itself. A committee of Sicilian
exiles and Athenian experts told the Assembly that there was enough wealth in Sicily
to pay the costs of the war and occupation. "The report was encouraging but untrue,"
wrote Thucydides.
Though war was constant in ancient Greece, it was still usually justified by a threat,
an insult or an incident. But the excursion against Sicily was different, and
Alcibiades announced a new, or at least normally unstated, doctrine.
"One does not only defend oneself against a superior power when one is attacked: One
takes measures in advance to prevent the attack materializing," he said.
When and where should this preemption doctrine be applied? Alcibiades gave an answer
of a sort. "It is not possible for us to calculate, like housekeepers [perhaps a
better translation would be "girlie men"], exactly how much empire we want to have.
The fact is that we have reached a state where we are forced to plan new conquests and
forced to hold on to what we have got because there is danger that we ourselves may
fall under the power of others unless others are in our power."
Alcibiades' argument carried the day, but before the invasion, the Athenian fleet
sailed around seeking allies among the Hellenic colonies near Sicily. Despite the
expedition's "great preponderance of strength over those against whom it set out,"
only a couple of cities joined the coalition.
At home, few spoke out against the Sicilian operation. "There was a passion for the
enterprise which affected everyone alike," Thucydides reports. "The result of this
excessive enthusiasm of the majority was that the few who actually were opposed to the
expedition were afraid of being thought unpatriotic if they voted against it, and
therefore kept quiet."
In the face of aggressive posturing, Nicias appealed to the Assembly members to show
true courage.
"If any of you is sitting next to one of [Alcibiades'] supporters," Nicias said, "do
not allow yourself to be browbeaten or to be frightened of being called a coward if
you do not vote for war.. Our country is on the verge of the greatest danger she has
ever known. Think of her, hold up your hands against this proposal and vote in favor
of leaving the Sicilians alone."
We don't know how many Athenians had secret reservations, but few hands went up
against the war.
In the end, the Athenians lost everything in Sicily. Their army was defeated and their
navy destroyed. Alcibiades was recalled early on; Nicias was formally executed while
thousands of Athenian prisoners were left in an open pit, where most died.
The Sicilians didn't follow up by invading Attica; they just wanted Athens out. But
with the leader of the democracies crippled, allies left the Athenian League. Then the
real enemy, Sparta, ever patient and cautious, closed in over the next few years. But
not before Athens descended, on its own, into a morass of oligarchic coups and self-
imposed tyranny.
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
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