Dove Hunting In Iraq
By Ron Marr (02/26/03)
It strikes me that Saddam Hussein and Bill Clinton have something very much in common. That said, before the smoke pours from liberal ears, let me state that I'm not comparing the infinite inhumanity of the former with the sleazy egocentrism of the latter. Miles of distance exist between butchering your own people and fooling around with a fat chick.
While Clinton damaged this country in innumerable ways - curtailed civil rights with gusto, joyfully violated the law and acted like a jerk - I don't think he ever gassed his own people. He nauseated many of them with hot air, but such is better treatment than that received by the Kurds.
No, What Saddam and Bill have in common is an understanding of the current state of human nature, and how it is best manipulated.
Both of these fellows intrinsically comprehend that, when caught red-handed, the first thing you do is deny. And not just once. You deny with every breath, over and over, in an attempt to plant a shred of doubt. Bill and Saddam realize that, over the last few decades, many Americans have become ever more frightened of appearing judgmental. As a rule they don't like to make decisions. They prefer platitudes over veracity. They despise taking decisive action for fear of being wrong. Most ordinary folk, given the opportunity, will turn their head and walk away from unpleasantness rather than speaking up and having a spotlight thrown on their convictions. They ignore the dead mouse in the pantry, for it's squishy and smells bad. They don't step up to the plate, for they are terrified they might strike out.
But, every good liar is aware that mere denials begin to wear thin after a time. Therefore, to increase the doubt of those whom you would deceive, you insert a few notes of gospel amidst your lullaby of lies. Clinton was a master of this tactic, displaying it particularly well after his dalliance with the aforementioned Ms. Blimp, during the Whitewater scam and in regard to illegal fund-raising. He finally admitted that he did know the tubby babe. He finally admitted he was a minority stockholder in the pseudo-corporation that attempted to sell Arkansas swampland. He finally admitted his people might have inadvertently made a few phone calls, returned a couple of donations from thugs, crooks and cronies, mistakenly appropriated FBI files.
Clinton knew the "fraidy-cat" side of the human soul, and was well aware that a smidgen of authenticity distracts the sheep from the big lie, placates their need for velvet blinders. Saddam knows this too.
First, the Mad Muslim claimed to not have ANY weapons of mass destruction. Later, when forbidden missiles were finally discovered, he admitted that those were some ordinance about which he had forgotten. First, he said there was no evidence of biological or chemical armaments in Iraq. But, when the heat went up a few degrees, he "suddenly" discovered documents purporting to show that the arsenal (which he didn't have) had been destroyed. "I'm trying to comply," he explained, hinting that he hated war and that the hawkish George Bush was only after his country's natural resources.
That is explanation enough for those UN members with whom Saddam has multi-billion dollar business deals and terrorist alliances. It's also rationalization aplenty for those Americans who condemn their own liberty and believe peace can only come via a universal government where all people are equal and health care is free and no one goes hungry and money is unnecessary and every living creature is a thing of light and smiles and beauty.
You know...like on Star Trek
And so, the feckless, fearful and fanciful among us, those who protest our "aggression" against one of the most totalitarian dictators in modern times, swallow the easy pill. They are urged to doubt their own leaders by a left-leaning press, one which, even in the wake of 9/11, still seems to place liberal partisanship above national security. In a fit of self-mockery they deny (there's that word again) the blatantly obvious certitude that failure to take action now will only lead to untold atrocities in the future.
The anti-war crowd lives in a fantasy land, wishing for the "lemonade springs where the bluedbird sings in the Big Rock Candy Mountain." They are the ones who would prescribe a band-aid for lung cancer. They adhere to the ideology of pacifism because it permits them to appear concerned without inviting risk or accountability. They march against war because it absolves them from admitting that the world is a harsh place. They flee from reality because to admit evil on the large scale would require that it be dealt with in our own politically correct social strata.
But make no mistake. Despite their ardent claims to the contrary, the doves among us are not afraid of war. When push comes to shove they could not care less about war, human rights abuses, Saddam Hussein or Iraq. They are simply afraid of violating the almighty status quo.
They are simply afraid of life.
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