President Barrack Obama is articulate. He thinks rationally and expresses himself clearly. That is an important (and welcome) quality in a leader. In and of itself, however, that does not guarantee he is right.
I recall watching a friend of mine take a needle, light a match and hold the needle to it until it turned red. Then he proceeded to use the hot needle to puncture his thumbnail. He screamed in agony. It did not take him long to recover, and upon doing so he turned and gestured for me to take the needle and the matches. "Hey, Demers, why don't you try it!"
On September 11, 2001, America was victimized. Thousands of innocent people lost their lives that day. As President Obama acknowledged in his speech Tuesday evening, the world was galvanized, unified. Victims don't have to explain; but avengers do. When victims act like oppressors they quickly lose any moral capital they might have had. That's the paradox - that's the Biblical irony. Like it or not, that's the situation we have put ourselves in. I had hoped this president would have the moral fortitude to lead this great country of ours toward a new definition of "strength". I agree with Bob Herbert's November 30 column in the NY Times (http://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/01/opinion/01herbert.html?em) - President Obama has chosen the politically easier path.
When I declined my friend's invitation to stick a hot needle through my thumbnail, he derided me: "What's the matter ... Are you chicken?"
Well, yes. In a manner of speaking. But I also like to think I was smart. Had I imitated his ridiculous behavior at that level, would he have expected me to incrementally follow him in an escalating series of masochistic manoeuvers? The judgment was on those who lashed out at us on 9/11. They were the real losers; not us. But I can't help but suspect they knew exactly what they were doing. The heinous deed was actually a dare. They cut off their arm with a sword, and they must have known we would not be bested - we would take up the sword as well. And in convincing ourselves we were lashing out at them, we have sliced and diced our own "moral capital" to the point where it is difficult for our enemies to find any trace of it anymore. Indeed, President Obama's eloquence notwithstanding, I'm having trouble locating it as well.
When I declined my friend's invitation to stick a hot needle through my thumbnail, he derided me: "What's the matter ... Are you chicken?"
Well, yes. In a manner of speaking. But I also like to think I was smart. Had I imitated his ridiculous behavior at that level, would he have expected me to incrementally follow him in an escalating series of masochistic manoeuvers? The judgment was on those who lashed out at us on 9/11. They were the real losers; not us. But I can't help but suspect they knew exactly what they were doing. The heinous deed was actually a dare. They cut off their arm with a sword, and they must have known we would not be bested - we would take up the sword as well. And in convincing ourselves we were lashing out at them, we have sliced and diced our own "moral capital" to the point where it is difficult for our enemies to find any trace of it anymore. Indeed, President Obama's eloquence notwithstanding, I'm having trouble locating it as well.
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