Rafael Edward Cruz is, undoubtedly, an idiot. But, as idiots go, he’s not particularly outstanding among members of the US Congress. Like many of his colleagues, he’s more enamored of the sound of his own voice, than the quality of his words.
He may well hold his nose. Much of the guff he spouted during his recent Congressional marathon stank to high heaven and beyond.
Frankly, I don’t give a damn what Cruz, or any other American politician, says in criticism of their fellows. They can call each other the most horrendous names, accuse their opponents of a preponderance of foul crimes, or even, as happens frequently, expose themselves sexually on the internet. It all does no more than prove the shallowness of their thinking, and a lack of concern for those poor suckers who voted them into office.
What sticks in my craw is a habit common to many American politicians, that of blackening the names of those they know absolutely nothing about, to gain effect for their otherwise pathetic, childish, and frankly, stultifying speeches.
Senator Rafael Edward Cruz isn’t fit to mention the name of the late British Prime Minister, Neville Chamberlain. His reference to that gentleman as an ‘appeaser’ of the Nazis is insulting to the British and shows a total lack of any knowledge of the period.
Chanberlain’s ‘appeasement’ stigma resulted from political propaganda propagated by a gutter press, both in Britain and America, following his attempts to prevent a European war he knew would prove disastrous for the continent. Chamberlain was feted for his efforts when he returned from Munich on September 29th 1938. King George VI wrote:
“After the magnificent efforts of the Prime Minister in the cause of peace, it is my fervent hope that a new era of friendship and prosperity may be dawning among the peoples of the world.”
It was only in later years, when scapegoats were being sought, that the label, ‘appeaser’ was laid at Chamberlain’s door.
Senator Rafael Edward Cruz has likely never bothered to consider reasons why Chamberlain would seek a peaceful solution to the problems afflicting Europe in 1938. After all, it’s a nice story spun to Americans as cowardice – not something that could happen in America, where the military alternative is the only alternative on the table. You know, like the bully in the school playground who’s as thick as a farmyard full of pig-shit and only knows how to use his fists to win an argument?
Consider why Chamberlain attempted peace by diplomacy before going to war (and it was Chamberlain who declared war on Germany in 1939). The country wasn’t ready for war. Its munitions were in a sorry state. France, the only real ally of the British, was weak, and America – that great land of the free and the brave – like Pontius Pilate, was washing its hands of the whole affair and wasn’t going to get itself embroiled in someone else’s war.
When it came to the crunch, Britain took on Germany, Hitler and the Nazis, alone. According to Senator Rafael Edward Cruz’s history books, WWII began in 1942. Actually, Senator, it didn’t. It began in 1939. Where was America in the intervening years? Surprise, surprise! America was busy appeasing the Nazis by financing their war effort via highfalutin US families whose members would go on to become US Presidents.[1]
…The debate over Prescott Bush’s behaviour has been bubbling under the surface for some time. There has been a steady internet chatter about the “Bush/Nazi” connection, much of it inaccurate and unfair. But the new documents, many of which were only declassified last year, show that even after America had entered the war and when there was already significant information about the Nazis’ plans and policies, he worked for and profited from companies closely involved with the very German businesses that financed Hitler’s rise to power. It has also been suggested that the money he made from these dealings helped to establish the Bush family fortune and set up its political dynasty…[1]
Which begs the question: who were the true appeasers?
While we’re on the subject, like most Brits I’m heartily sick of hearing Americans tell us how they won the Second World War for us. By 1942, when Japan made fools of the US by bombing Pearl Harbor, the war in the air over Britain had been won by the RAF. Hitler’s attempt to invade that island by sea had been thwarted. ‘Unternehmen Seelöwe’, (that’s ‘Operation Sealion’ in case Senator Rafael Edward Cruz’s German grammar is a little rusty) was cancelled and the German chancellor instead instigated ‘Fall Barbarossa’ – the invasion of Russia on his Eastern Front. We all know what happened there. Well, maybe Senator Rafael Edward Cruz didn’t make it that far into history while at Princeton, and unfortunately the US history books used in educational establishments are not known for their accuracy.
So, Senator Rafael Edward Cruz, if your fellow Americans are prepared to tolerate listening to the shite emanating from your vocal chords for twenty-one hours and nineteen minutes, that’s their prerogative. No doubt there are some who might even agree with you. After all, it appears the ‘standard’ for US political pundits is to announce the most outrageous lies in the certain knowledge that someone, somewhere, will nod sagely in agreement simply because their grand-daddy belonged to the same political party.
We British – even those of us who live in this country – would be most obliged if you would leave our history out of your rhetoric, unless of course you can provide a truly accurate assessment.
But, then, even if you could you probably wouldn’t dare. It might just cause a rent in the fabric of that American, arrogant, exceptionalism that makes you believe you can stand up and spout the most obscene nonsense and the rest of the world will simply nod slavishly in agreement.
[1] “How Bush’s grandfather helped Hitler’s rise to power” Guardian, September 25th 2004
