Celebrating Independance Day with a guilty conscience?

So today is Independance Day in the USA. A day where the american citizens and nationals celebrate its break away from the Common Wealth system and ties of the British monarch.

However, I still need to ask, can the American folk truly celebrate this day without feeling a little guilty? The alleged war against terror has nothing but burnt the Bush Administration and placed so much pressure on its citizens in the international world. This blog intends to highlight why the American nation should actually feel guilty about celebrating independance day.

1) Guantanamo Bay Detention Facility:
I watched a documentary that tells the storty of three British Muslim citizens who were captured (in Afghanistan) and sent to Guantanamo Bay where they were tortured and interrogated as to their involvement with Osama Bin Laden and his terrorist organisation. No concrete evidence has ever been brought forward which would 'incriminate' them. However, this documentary made the Bush Administration out as the 'biggest losers' in the war against terror. Guantanamo Bay IS NOT complying to the Geneva Conventions or its additional Protocols as the Bush Administration is alleging. The so called detainees are not afforded their basic human rights nor their fair trial rights. That is if they ever go on trial. Thank goodness for the Supreme Court's ruling that these detainees have fair trial rights and that they are being violated by the Bush Administration.

The response of the Administration is quite noteworthy: "These people are criminals that do not enjoy the freedom of human rights". I wonder, criminal according to who? What proof does the Administration have that these people are criminals? If they were caught as a result of this war on terror, why are they not sent to the International Criminal Court for prosecution? Oh I forgot, the USA is not a state party to the ICC Statute. Why not? Is it because of Guantanamo Bay?

2) Iraq
This is where I feel like saying 'enough said'. Even though the USA is attempting to establish a better rule in this country they have miserably failed... 6 years later. Yes, Suddam was captured, had his day in court and rightfully executed. However, the Sunnis and the Shi'tes are still going at each other. The Administration should have possibly placed there focus on getting these two ethnic Muslim Groups at peace first, before placing its focus on Saddam Hussein.

These are only two examples why the USA government cannot celebrate Independance Day with as 'One nation over God' as they are robbing others of their independance.

Thus, before the USA government can ever ask for sanctions again President Mugabe and his regime in Zimbabwe, they first have to clean up on their own porch. Before they can criticise President Mbeki for his silent diplomacy policy on Zimbabwe, they first have to look at whether Bush was really succesful in his progressive actions towards this so called war against terror.

Or in the words of the Michael W Smith song: 'One nation over God look at what we have become'.