Why Attorneys Matter

The media and Congress is making much of the firing and resignations of several U.S. attorneys. Much of the blame is being put on Attorney General Alberto Gonzales, despite the complete glossing over of his bigger crime in the promotion of torture to public U.S. policy. Certainly, the Democratic Party has something to gain electorally by pressing this issue. It seems that the reason these firings are a bigger issue, however, is because it undermines the American illusion in a fundamental way.

It is one thing for the nation to carry out unspeakable acts. It is an entirely different thing to make plain that the checks and balances of the system are in fact illusion. The legal system is a fundamental part of the illusion that the people have some sort of check on the government. High school civics classes across the nation go to great lengths to instill this notion.

To paraphrase George Carlin, it is called the American Dream because you have to be asleep to believe it.