Incendiary Advice

The phrase has stuck in my craw since yesterday: more or less.

"I would say 30,000, more or less, have died as a result of the initial incursion and the ongoing violence against Iraqis," said George Bush, yesterday.

What an odd choice of words for a normal human being to use when speaking of death. Put it in any sentence of a serious nature, one requiring depth:

Dear Friend:

We regret to inform you your whole family died. More or less.

Sincerely,

The Government

"Sorry, son. You're going to lose all your limbs, more or less."


What the bloody hell is that phrase doing in a sentence regarding human life?

Aside from sticking out like a sore thumb, mocking the worth of a person, should he or she be unfortunate enough to be on the business end of America's quest for empire. Especially should he or she have darker skin, and speak another language. Then they are a person more or less.

Generally, to the Bush administration, less.

I'm so disgusted by his unfortunate, though deliberate, choice of words, as well as the stupid, painful joke he made immediately after his comments. It was meant to be humorous, more or less. But it was completely inappropriate. As usual.


I said once they didn't count the Iraq civilians because to them, they don't count. And you know what? I was absolutely right. Not more. Not less. Absolutely correct.

When given the opportunity to rise to the occasion and be more or less of a decent human being, George Bush yet again proved yesterday he is unequivocally less.

But what of the rest of us? Where are we? Do we realize these are civilians - not insurgents, not terrorists, not enemy combatants, but 30,000 people just like you and me? While we're all snuggled in our intact homes, watching television, dreaming about Happy Holidays (take that, Bill O'Reilly!), do we think at all about these people whose deaths are America's responsibility - collateral damage from a war we waged under false pretenses?

Do we even really care? More? Or less?