Color-Coded Warning Systems
It’s been a dozen years since the Bush-Cheney administration unveiled their infamous, color-coded “Homeland Security Advisory System,” with its five levels of “threat.” Well after the chart became the source of jokes, it would be replaced with the “National Terrorism Advisory System,” or “NTAS.” I sometimes expected the government to come out with something akin to the Weather Channel, calling for general anxiety along the East Coast; moderate fear in the Mid-West; and a drenching of paranoia in the South-West.
This isn’t to say that I dismiss all color-coded warning systems. In fact, there is one that I consider a national treasure: Code Pink. I was delighted to see the patriotic ladies of Code Pink exercising Amendment 1 -- my favorite part of the Constitution -- when Secretary of State John Kerry was addressing the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on Wednesday.
I’ve long had mixed feelings about Kerry. In general, I have had a good deal of respect for him. A large part of that goes back to April of 1971, when he spoke to the Senate Committee on Foreign Affairs about the US’s role in Vietnam. Over the years, he has been an antidote to the disease of bitterness that John McCain infects all conversations with.
Thus, it was strange to listen to Kerry on Wednesday, when he spoke. Unlike McCain, who attempted to score points by dismissing Code Pink with scorn, Kerry expressed a degree of respect for the ladies. And he noted that, years ago, he had also spoke out against a war in a similar setting. Yet, on this day, he was seeking support for a plan to clean up the mess that Bush, Cheney, and Rumsfeld had created. Surely the Bush-Cheney invasion of Iraq was a “mistake,” one that it would seem terribly wrong to ask anyone to die for today.
In all of the on-going discussions and debates about Iraq and Isis that I’ve seen on television, I am convinced that Code Pink has been the most honest and accurate in assessing the threat to our nation. I thank them for that.
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