by Don Hynes
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| Vantage Point | Culture and Politics by Don Hynes |
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"No man is prejudiced in favor of a thing, knowing it to be wrong.
He is attached to it on the belief of its being right; and when he sees it is not so,
the prejudice will be gone." - Tom Paine
December 08, 2003 The Adolescent Mind-Set "You have to understand the Arab mind," Capt. Todd Brown, a company commander with the Fourth Infantry Division, said as he stood outside the gates of Abu Hishma. "The only thing they understand is force — force, pride and saving face." "This fence is here for your protection," reads the sign posted in front of the barbed-wire fence. "Do not approach or try to cross, or you will be shot." "With a heavy dose of fear and violence, and a lot of money for projects, I think we can convince these people that we are here to help them," said Eighth Infantry battalion commander Lt. Col. Nathan Sassaman. Excerpted from a NYT article entitled Tough New Tactics these quotes connote more accurately the psychology of the American occupation of Iraq than a military strategy. Confining a civilian population behind razor wire ghettos isn’t new, at least not in the mid-east where Israel practices territorial imprisonment to control the Palestinian population, and tough was the police violence against demonstrators and journalists at the recent Miami FTAA meeting, but the adolescent mind-set is what formulates the blunt force of U.S. military strategy in Iraq and ignorance that pervades the ongoing oppressive occupation. The President’s recent catering trip to Iraq brought on cheers from the soldiers who were glad to have the deserved recognition, and jeers from questioning reporters, who, excluded from the Administration’s select list for the event, were reduced to the fake turkey in the photo-op. The irony of the media engineering was that for the president it was likely a sincere effort. He was obviously happy to be among the crowd of men and women who with or without just cause are on the hero’s journey of their young lives. President Bush has lived a life of unearned privilege, his mid life career based on family connection not personal accomplishment. No man can have that absence at the core of his experience and rest comfortably, and it’s a relief for him to get away from the Office which was a reward for his surname and corporate loyalty and hang out with those whose lives are on the line. He enjoys being one of the boys and that’s what endears him to a percentage of the populace. His self deprecating humor and lack of complexity make him as comfortable as a recliner and as easy to understand as Sunday football. The bad news is that he’s responsible for the most powerful economic and military engine in the world today, and the forces that control his policy and direction aren’t lacking in the intellectual subtlety the president as ordinary folks denies. Commentators see the President as a potentially tragic figure, a comic Texas hybrid within a bubble of isolation shielded from the affects of his increasingly marginalized policies with a confused and ambiguous or deceitful agenda, but the real peril of the situation is not just in the current president but the culture of the nation. The war against Vietnam was certainly not an innocent mistake however it might be revisited, but the awareness of that tragedy, which is surfacing again in the history of the Tiger Force, impacted the psyche of the country and coupled with the corruption of the Nixon White House brought a moral man into office. President Carter gave America the opportunity to consider it’s consumption and advancing militarism but his sobriety was too astringent a remedy for a culture that was then and now focused on a youthful and largely unfounded optimism. The Republican Party found an actor to portray a wise old man and he was voted into office with enthusiasm and continued accolade although the real record of his Administration was filled with high crimes and misdemeanors. Fortunately for President Regan he was already in the first stages of Alzheimer’s disease and his repeated "I can't recall" defense against the drugs and arms smuggling coordinated within his cabinet was partially authentic and remained unchallenged. Vice President and former CIA Director George Bush Sr. claimed no knowledge of the Iran Contra operation that was run by the CIA and likely involved his own son Jeb, yet his excuse of ignorance held for a country that refused the jade stone. The clandestine drug trade that came near exposure during the Iran Contra period is a fundamental operating principle for America’s present “war on terror” allies despite the U.S. anti-drug rhetoric that finances a gargantuan American penal system imprisoning tens of thousands of non-violent offenders in an increasingly skewed Department of Justice and corporately controlled judiciary. President Clinton defeated Bush Sr. by promising more, and although he did more for the economy than his ideologically driven adversaries would ever admit, ultimately his failing was his inability to mature beyond "I didn't inhale". Now we have the Joe Six Pack presidency, the end product of the decades long right wing rant against liberal intellect and PC legislation, i.e. the non-stop mocking of anyone who dares to appear intelligent. President Bush, proud that he “owes no one an explanation” for his actions except the higher power of his religious persuasion translates his narrow and simplistic fundamentalism into assaults against those even "suspect” of opposing his ideology despite the fury and resentment his violence posing as policy steadily breeds, assiduously avoids the criticism of his peers and opponents and embodies the cultural conceit Alexander Dumas once described where “independence has taken the place of liberty”. Changing the president will not change the autism of our culture but it’s a start. The search for someone who can alter the aberrant direction of our body politic and elevate the national bar may take awhile because the root of our shadow is so deep, but at this point in our history it is imperative that we maintain witness, openly address “wickedness in high places” - a reference President Bush should find familiar, and in the words of the world's oldest Oracle "the surest way to defeat evil is to make energetic progress in the good". Call and Answer by Robert Bly Tell me why it is we don't lift our voices these days And cry over what is happening. Have you noticed The plans are made for Iraq and the ice cap is melting? I say to myself: "Go on, cry. What's the sense Of being an adult and having no voice? Cry out! See who will answer! This is Call and Answer!" We will have to call especially loud to reach Our angels, who are hard of hearing; they are hiding In the jugs of silence filled during our wars. Have we agreed to so many wars that we can't Escape from silence? If we don't lift our voices, we allow Others (who are ourselves) to rob the house. How come we've listened to the great criers-Neruda, Akhmatova, Thoreau, Frederick Douglas-and now We're silent as sparrows in the little bushes? Some masters say our life lasts only seven days. Where are we in the week? Is it Thursday yet? Hurry, cry now! Soon Sunday night will come. Peace. *** |
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