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Keillor, February 13 2006

Text Source

Keillor, Garrison (syndicated columnist). "Join the government and see the world." Lawrence Journal-World (Lawrence, KS: Lawrence Journal-World; http://www.ljworld.com. February 13 2006): http://www2.ljworld.com/news/2006/feb/13/join_government_and_see_world/.

Message Unit 1 - an example of patriotized history

core myths				unpatriotized history: The US attacked the Iraqis, set itself up as their dictator, and now kills any Iraqi citizen who doesn't at least pretend to submit to US rule. The US troops are the primary ones carrying out this project of domination and killing. The US then intends to set up a US-led force of Iraqis whose job will be to kill all Iraqis who don't submit to US-led forces, same as the job of US troops is now.
message (of patriotized history): The victims of the Iraq war are the US soldiers, not the Iraqis.		patriotic change (of history)
technique: transparent redefinition
text: And he has met the families of soldiers killed in Iraq and visited with young people horribly wounded in the war, which would be a soul-searing experience for any commander. To see a beautiful young woman who must now live without an arm as a direct result of decisions you made--who could see this and not scour the depths of your conscience? And to suffer pangs of conscience even as you exhort the public to have confidence in you--this has to be an interesting experience. Your mistakes are responsible for terrible suffering, but you stand among your victims and urge public support for your policies as a sign of support for the people those policies have injured.

Message Unit 2 - an example of patriotized history

core myths				unpatriotized history: The US conquest of Iraq was not a mistake the US made. Iraq is a tasty plum that the US had wanted to take for years and had been working on taking for years prior to 2003.
message (of patriotized history): The US conquest of Iraq was a mistake that the US government made.		patriotic change (of history)
technique: transparent redefinition
text: And he has met the families of soldiers killed in Iraq and visited with young people horribly wounded in the war, which would be a soul-searing experience for any commander. To see a beautiful young woman who must now live without an arm as a direct result of decisions you made--who could see this and not scour the depths of your conscience? And to suffer pangs of conscience even as you exhort the public to have confidence in you--this has to be an interesting experience. Your mistakes are responsible for terrible suffering, but you stand among your victims and urge public support for your policies as a sign of support for the people those policies have injured.

Message Unit 3 - an example of patriotized history

core myths				unpatriotized history: It was the Iraqi citizens who were overwhelmed by an attack on them by the US, followed by a US tyranny that tried to kill every Iraqi citizen who wouldn't submit.
message (of patriotized history): It was the US government that was overwhelmed.		patriotic change (of history)
technique: transparent redefinition
text: Most of us sense that when, decades from now, the story of this administration comes out, it will be one of ordinary incompetence, of rigid and incurious people overwhelmed by events in a world they don't dare look around and see.

Message Unit 4 - an example of patriotized history

core myths				unpatriotized history: The US ended up holding one of the greatest prizes on Earth, something it had coveted for years. That's not incompetence or losing, that's winning. The US had wanted to take Iraq for years and had worked toward taking Iraq for years. The US is now and will continue to be the ruler of Iraq, all of its land, all its people, and all of their resources including their oil.
message (of patriotized history): The Iraq war was a mistake by the US government, a result of US government incompetence and failure of perception.		patriotic change (of history)
technique: transparent redefinition
text: Most of us sense that when, decades from now, the story of this administration comes out, it will be one of ordinary incompetence, of rigid and incurious people overwhelmed by events in a world they don't dare look around and see.

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