Business class to Guantanamo Bay
This week In a few hours I will be leaving on a business trip for the States, my first trip back in more than three years (my last visit was just prior to September 11th, 2001). It will be interesting to see how much my country has changed in the time since then. Unfortunately, I don’t think much has changed for the better. All things considered, I will regard the trip as a smashing success if:
- Our plane doesn’t crash (I’ve been reading the 9/11 commission’s report recently, which is probably something you shouldn’t do before getting on an airplane).
- I don’t get hauled off to Cuba for stepping outside of a free-speech zone or something (I’m no Kevin Drum or Atrios, but I am rather outspoken in my criticism of the president—a trait that would almost certainly flare up in the face of authoritarian pushiness).
If the business deal also happens to go well, that will be a really nice bonus.
My wife says I’ll be fine as long as I keep my mouth shut about Bush. If that’s the case, I should get fitted for one of those cone-shaped hoods right now.
Update: Oh, crap. My connecting flight out of D.C. will be with Delta, the same airline that recently harassed Bob Harris of This Modern World for no apparent reason. (I might even be in possession of a camera during this trip, perhaps even more than one! God save us all.)
This is not making me look forward to this trip. As I am getting ready to head out, I find myself filled with anxiety and a lingering fear that Bob Harris’ (or Kevin Drum’s) experience is not simply an aberration, but a symptom of the on-going Gitmoization of America being carried out to create the impression that our president has a clue about how to handle terrorism. Bob’s closing remarks are haunting: “I am in the United States. But I am not home.”
I will soon be on my way back to the States. I wonder if it will still be the home I remember.
