Doonesbury’s startling take on who Americans are as a people

Garry Trudeau, creator of Doonesbury

Doonesbury character Mark Slackmeyer at his mike offers a summary in Garry Trudeau’s comic strip this morning of who Americans are as a people by looking at two sets of facts:

Fact #1:           Nine years ago we were attacked. 3000 people died.

In response we started two long, bloody wars and built a vast homeland security apparatus – all at a cost of trillions!

Fact #2:           Now consider this. During those same nine years, 270,000 Americans were killed by gunfire at home.

                        Our response: We weakened our gun laws.

Thoughtful Americans would add a couple more facts:

Fact #3:           In order to pay for our costly wars and homeland security apparatus, we chose not to raise taxes or cut back on the millions we gave to support dictatorships around the world.

                        Instead of raising taxes on the wealthy or closing tax loopholes to force corporations to pay their fair share in paying for our wars, etc., the government borrowed billions and raided the Social Security trust fund.

Fact #4:           Today, America’s political leaders from both major parties are concerned about the huge deficit they’ve created by the above practices.

                        In response, 2011 budget proposals submitted by Obama feature deep cuts in the federal energy assistance program for poor people, and both Republicans and Democrats are hinting at gutting Social Security and Medicare in attempts to offset the scary deficit.

In the last panel of Gary Trudeau’s comic strip this morning, Slackmeyer’s guest on his radio show, an illegal alien, apparently from outer space, responds: “Fail. Cannot comprehend.”

Here in St. Paul, Minn. this Sunday morning, I’m with the little green creature  - I also find incomprehensible who Americans are in terms of our government’s actions since 9/11.