August 25, 2007
Gather round, it’s lesson time
I don’t know about you, but I’m getting a bit tired of receiving lessons in history from a proud “C” student. Going back on his previous statements that the war in Iraq is nothing like the Vietnam War, this week Our Fine President came to the conclusion that the wars are very similar and we’re in danger of losing in Iraq if we don’t learn the lesson of the Vietnam War.
That lesson? Well it seems to be falling back on his favorite paradox of the impossibility of loss if we never stop fighting. The lesson of Vietnam is that after 16 years and 58,000 dead, we quit the game too soon and all the chaos that followed was the result. Now of course that view ignores the greater truth that both the disastrous war and its horrendous aftereffects didn’t need to happen in the first place if unnecessary war wasn’t waged in the first place.
You’d think that’d apply even more aptly to this current war since it was sold on shaded truths, darkest hopes and an overflow of fear, but the inappropriateness of this particular “lesson” isn’t what I’m in the mood to discuss right now. Nope, I’m after the greater theme of Our Fine President and his helpful habit of explaining and reexplaining all these important historical lessons because the American people just don’t see things his way and if they could just get their feeble minds around the concepts the way he does everyone would understand why he does what he does.
No set of lessons has been more well promoted than those of 9/11. To Our Fine President the attacks that day provided the lessons that we had an enemy and that our enemy could actually attack our country. To him this threat is different than any before, and everything changed that day so all the principles upon which this country was created were rendered quaint and not up to the task of protecting us any longer.
Of course he’s way off base here. This country’s had plenty of enemies for some time and when you stop paying attention to them or discount their importance their attacks can seem a bit surprising. His notion of the only way to defeat this enemy is through new means is either a thin smokescreen for a power grab, a severe lack of faith in the ideals of this country, or both.
In general he’s fond of peppering his speeches with clever little lessons from history that he repeats with confidence and authority almost willing them to accuracy. He loves to talk down to his audiences explaining the simple concepts the way he’d like them to be defined and painting his always optimistic picture of the series of outrages and catastrophes over which he’s presided.
Of course he’s way off base on these and was famously an average student, but that doesn’t mean he’s not a bright guy. Maybe Our Fine President just has a different view of just about everything. Maybe he didn’t get his mediocre grades from a lack of studiousness, but instead turned in well done work with off target assessments and unfounded ideas. Maybe he just looks at a set of information and has a unique take the lesson there. Being able to see things in such a way that the same facts always point in your direction no matter which way your facing is quite a special gift Our Fine President brings to this land.
Think about some lessons he doesn’t seem to mention; the lessons of Katrina, the lessons of contempt for Congress, the lessons of a crumbling infrastructure and increasing corporate influence and corruption. I guess he hasn’t gotten around to studying those subjects just yet. I can’t wait to hear what lessons he has to pass on to us from there.
the president should watch “the fog of war.” there’s a lesson or two in there for him…
also, my anti-spam word to submit my comment is “embiggen.” maybe the president would be “embiggened” by seeing the film.