Divide and conquer

In an article about the WTO and globalization, Mark Engler advances what I believe is the real reason behind most of Bush's policies:

Rather than being able to advance sophisticated arguments about what sort of international economic system we want to live in, we have been reduced to denouncing blatantly illegal foreign invasions and defending our basic civil liberties.

This is, I believe, why Bush's administration is blatantly attacking education, health care, the environment, civil liberties, freedom from religion, and just about everything else that liberals believe in. It may even be a significant part of the reason the US is at war right now. It's not because they give a good goddamn about abortion or gay marriage (though their supporters might); it's the classic divide and conquer ploy.

People who are busy fighting for their own rights don't have the liberty to fight for the rights of others. While we're distracted, burning up our energy fighting them to hold onto absolutely every bit of progress made in the last fifty years, they're busy pillaging the world's economy. I have absolutely no idea how to turn this around, either. The only way to stop them is to get them out of fucking office, and it seems like we can't even do that.