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The Boy Who Cried Wolf
Is there a significance in the odd coincidence that "the boy who cried 'wolf'" (terrorists!) is also "the man who would be king," or is it merely an omen of ill tidings? The ancient, storied fable told by Aesop tells us of a boy who, lonely and perhaps a tad mischievous, cries "Wolf!" in order to get the villagers to run and join him with his flock. After several false alarms, the populace ceases to respond, and when the wolf actually descends upon the sheep the shepherd is left alone, his flock scattered. There is a more updated counterpart to this story, as told by Omar the Storyteller, which places the story in a more modern context: the "boy" is the mayor, and the identity of the wolf -- revealed at the end -- is a twist that should leave us breathless indeed. Omar's story, too, has an immediate relevance to the current state of our nation.
Both stories hold a moral -- the former (Aesop's tale) is that "Even when liars tell the truth, they are never believed." Omar's story has, perhaps, a more insidious implication, one that suggests that he who cries wolf may be the wolf itself, sowing complacency among the populace until they have unwittingly surrendered to his wiles.
In our current time and place, as we face the impending "State of the Union" address from George W. Bush, it appears that both stories have a direct relevance to our nation today. I do not expect George to reflect on those stories in his special presentation, however. Does anyone?
The Bush White House has been caught, time and again, lying to the nation, to Congress and to the world. Whether or not they were ever believed by everyone at first, virtually no-one trusts anything that comes out this White House today, and yet when they speak of great and grave dangers to our nation and our freedom we ought to take heed: they, themselves, are the biggest threat to our democracy that we have ever faced. They are, in essence, the very "enemy within" that the Oaths of Office pledge them to defend us again -- "all enemies, foreign and domestic."
They are the wolf, and is it "Wolf!" that they cry, attempting to distract us against their machinations.
Slowly, inexorably, we are moved through their actions not away from war but toward it; already involved in two conflicts, our "leaders" are calling for a buildup that is sure to land us in another. The same cries of indignation at Iran echo the calls and cries against Iraq, crying "Wolf!" while steadfastly acting the part of the predator instead of the shepherd.
With a cry of "Wolf!" instead of Havoc! yet with the same gist and gusto, the Bush Administration prepares to let slip another pack of wolves, more dogs of war, upon the region where our nation has already spilled the blood of countless thousands.
And Caesar's spirit, ranging for revenge,
With Ate by his side come hot from hell,
Shall in these confines with a monarch's voice
Cry 'Havoc,' and let slip the dogs of war;
That this foul deed shall smell above the earth
With carrion men, groaning for burial. -- Antony from Julius Caesar, a play
by William Shakespeare, 1601
Does this not remind anyone of how, in the name and spirit of Patriotism, George W. Bush stirred the populace to support his war(s) in the aftermath of 9/11? References to 9/11, and the extrapolation of a global war on "Terra," have been used to justify his resolve and chart his course for the past five years. Whenever the public appears to tire of the charade, the cry of "Wolf!" ("Terra!) goes up -- coiciding, usually, with a critical political juncture for the Republican party. Isn't that sweet -- the terrorists are helping the Republicans, and the White House in particular.
A recent diary by levymg deconstructed recent events that indicate we are slowly, steadily be prepared for yet another warning cry, and yet another pack loosed upon a sovereign nation on the say-so of our intrepid -- and often wrong, if not outright deceitful -- White House. Are we listening? Are we paying attention to what we are being told? More importantly, is Congress listening, paying attention and willing to take action to thwart another gamed play on the field of war?
The State of the Union
What the "State of the Union" address is -- what it is meant to be according to the Constitution -- and what we will receive (particularly from the Bush White House) are entirely different things. According to the Constitution, and as quoted on the White House site, "The President shall from time to time give to Congress information of the State of the Union and recommend to their Consideration such measures as he shall judge necessary and expedient." -- Article II, Sec. 3, U.S. Constitution What we will receive will be a large steaming pile of propaganda, some dire warnings and soft promises that won't be kept -- we'll be lucky if Bush gives the nation a virtual peck on the cheek after he slips out the back door in the morning, pants and shoes in hand.
What do I think the current SOTU should cover, and what it should describe and make clear in agonizing detail? Ah...perhaps we should first consider the various names by which I would present it:
- The State of Chaos
With an Administration that resists oversight and accountability, two wars ongoing plus one bombing campaign (Somalia), an escalation and a "show of force" in the offing, there is no other way to describe what has been wrought upon the world.
- The State of Confusion
Even among their own party, confusion reigns supreme as the now-worried "party faithful" realize they have little to no control over the Decider and his cabal of lunatics, watching helplessly as they plunge onward into the various quagmires of their own inauspicious design.
- The State of Decay
Our rights, our freedoms, our liberties and privileges are being folded, bent, mutiliated, spindled, cut and walked upon even as our social, educational and healthcare safety nets are disassembled.
- The State of Denial
The worldwide problem of global environmental impact and change is denied, as are other "inconvenient truths" that impede the projection of yet greater rights and freedoms upon the corporations and the elite -- all at the expense of the majority. And all, of course, steadfastly denied.
- The State of Disaster
The World Trade Center cleanup, hurricanes Katrina and Rita, the rebuilding of New Orleans and the whole Middle Eastern adventure -- glaring examples of disastrous policies, arrogant assumptions, misplaced ideologies and pure abject greed in action.
- The State of Emergency
Our rush to a bigger buildup in the Gulf, coinciding with the Surge into Iraq and a tougher set of talk about Iraq, all while the policy of "Unitary Executive" is augmented and signing statements are issued in an attempt to create a cushion of immunity for an Administration hell-bent on destruction have created an ongoing Constitutional Crisis of emergency proportions. Which major factor, what major element will fail first? Or will several, or all, aspects of our society fail in a spectacular implosion that will take historians centuries of debate to finally clarify, define and document?
- The State of Failure
The Presidency of George W. Bush.
- The State of Terror
We -- our nation, our Executive Branch -- have become the Wolf that we fear so much. Secret rendition, torture, questionable (and usually deniable) habeas corpus, illegal wiretapping, attempts to silence whistleblowing patriots and shut down or unduly pressure any of the news and media outlets with any integrity that are still left standing...We have become a terror state, ruled by the wolves who seek to keep us scared so that we dare not act against them in time to forestall their actions and hold them accountable.
Each and every one describes the condition of our country. Pick one, or several. Elaborate if you like; you'd only be preaching to the choir. Most Americans are beginning to see this now. Those who can't, won't. (See "State of Denial" to understand those who won't see what is right in front of them, inasmuch as one can understand blind denial and unwavering, misplaced faith.)
[Updated: accidentally omitted from original]
:: :: Start of update.
The ascent of the neoconservative ideology has finally reached its zenith; their moon and stars waxed over a nation bewitched by their words and minions, and now wane as the deeds they have done are revealed as by the dawning of a new day. They donned the cloak of patriotism in order to slay the true spirit of the nation, much as Brutus and the rogue Senators betrayed Caesar, and now the nation -- brutally beaten and plundered under their watch -- awaits their words of deception once again.
But the nation does not wait idly.
Just as Marc Antony rose to speak upon the death of Caesar in Shakespeare's play, we have a man standing up to speak after the words of our modern Brutus -- Jim Webb. Antony's words should be ringing in our ears as the Decider's words echo emptily across the continent: Friends, Romans, countrymen, lend me your ears;
I come to bury Caesar, not to praise him.
The evil that men do lives after them;
The good is oft interred with their bones: (80)
So let it be with Caesar.
So let it be with the nation we once knew, and shall know again.I speak not to disprove what Brutus spoke,
But here I am to speak what I do know. (105)
You all did love him once,--not without cause:
What cause withholds you, then, to mourn for him?-- Just as Eve Perone may have sung "Don't cry for me Argentina," we should not weep for our nation. It is down, but not out for the count. And what of the words spoken by our own dear "Brutus" of the threat of terrorism (Wolf!) and the vulnerability of our nation (WOLF!) -- what of those words? Shakespeare's Antony, through his oration to the citizens of Rome, began and often repeated an ironic line:Brutus says he was ambitious; (90)
And Brutus is an honourable man. It is with those words of irony, my friends, that Antony captured the hearts and minds of the people. It is through his descriptions of each dagger wound (warrantless wiretapping, secret renditions, torture) that he lays the case so plainly for the betrayal of the man (nation) -- each wound assigned to a betrayer, and the particular cruelty of each cut given voice:Look, in this place ran Cassius' dagger through:
See what a rent the envious Casca made:
Through this the well-beloved Brutus stabb'd; (180)
And as he pluck'd his cursed steel away,
Mark how the blood of Caesar follow'd it,--
As rushing out of doors, to be resolved
If Brutus so unkindly knock'd, or no; Here, now, we find ourselves similarly betrayed by those who have us believe they are but trusted servants of our nation. For Brutus, as you know, was Caesar's angel: (185)
Judge, O you gods, how dearly Caesar loved him!
This was the most unkindest cut of all;
For when the noble Caesar saw him stab,
Ingratitude, more strong than traitors' arms,
Quite vanquish'd him: then burst his mighty heart;
Our nation, imperiled and mortally wounded by the cuts and stabs of her own stewards.Which all the while ran blood, great Caesar fell.
O, what a fall was there, my countrymen!
Then I, and you, and all of us fell down, (195)
Whilst bloody treason flourish'd over us.
Bloody treason. Words to live by. Words to die by.
Truer words have never been; we are betrayed.
Jim Webb, we leave and bequeath it unto you and your words, pray bring a sense of sanity back to our mindless masses, that we may all see and finally comprehend the dangerous path our nation now has before us. The taint of treason by those in the highest offices threatens to infect our national body; our Congress must make this right. Our people must voice their dissent, and drive the wolves from office once and for all.
Jim, become our Antony.
:: :: End of update.
I'm not going to watch the State of the Union as presented by George W. Bush. I'll catch it in smaller, digestible chunks that I can control, via video. I won't subject my family to any more of the charade that has so weakened our nation and endangered liberty and justice throughout the world.
I'm just not in that kind of state of mind.
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