‘A Heart, a Cross, and a Flag’ were the things that Peggy Noonan saw ‘rise from the rubble’ of post-Sept. 11 America. By 2005, a very different set of emblems had emerged to animate the American imagination. Let us examine them, shall we …
More of 2005’s Hottest Trends“count among them a dog, a kid, and a continent” in my new WorldNetDaily.com column. Comment are, as always, welcome.
‘A Heart, a Cross, and a Flag’ were the things that Peggy Noonan saw ‘rise from the rubble’ of post-Sept. 11 America. By 2005, a very different set of emblems had emerged to animate the American imagination. Let us examine them, shall we …
More of 2005’s Hottest Trends“count among them a dog, a kid, and a continent” in my new WorldNetDaily.com column. Comment are, as always, welcome.
“Person of the Year,” TIME stipulates, “is an annual issue that features a profile on the man, woman, couple, group, idea, place, or machine that—for better or worse—has most influenced events in the preceding year.”
My Person of the Year flouts TIME’s criteria. He has not “influenced events in the preceding year”; he has been irreparably influenced by events beyond his control. He has not triumphed over adversity, for how can he? To do so, he’d have to be super powerful, like a Super Power. He’d have to be someone with a say; someone whose vote actually counts. He’d have to be wealthy; stupendously strong; immune to daisy cutters, cluster bombs, RPGs, and IEDs.
My Person of the Year is the Common Iraqi.
Yes, it is misguided to celebrate victims. But then I am not celebrating The Average Iraqi. I’m suggesting that he serve as a symbol for the ravages visited by the state. He has constituted collateral damage for two administrations. And he’ll continue to be a pawn in the grubby hands of whoever seizes power in that failed state.
The Average Iraqi’s vote is not a triumph over adversity; it’s a victory over reality, for it is folly to equate freedom with symbols, and rhetoric with reality. Casting a vote to give someone power does not make a man free; freedom is the knowledge that even if one doesn’t perform that ritual, nobody can exercise power over one’s life, liberty, and property.
The Average Iraqi is a tragic hero, not a Randian hero. His image should be seared in the minds of men with a conscience. He is the repository of state evil; first Saddam, and then a faraway president and his Revolutionary Assembly sealed his fate without his consent.
CNN Correspondent Jack Cafferty succinctly sums up the moral depravity of this administration. Readers (usually party Republicans, not true conservatives) who cannot get past partisan proclivities, despite my exhortations, should pay attention to Cafferty’s (“conservative”) quip about Harriet E. Miers. Altogether, Cafferty, who has also suggested sacking New York City’s transit workers should they strike, strikes me as a cross between John McLaughlin and Jon Stewart (A good combination, of course):
“Who cares about whether the Patriot Act gets renewed? Want to abuse our civil liberties? Just do it.
Who cares about the Geneva Conventions? Want to torture prisoners. Just do it.
Who cares about rules concerning the identity of CIA agents? Want to reveal the name of a covert operative? Just do it.
Who cares about whether the intelligence concerning WMDS is accurate? Want to invade Iraq? Just do it.
Who cares about qualifications to serve on the nation’s highest court? Want to nominate a personal friend with no qualifications? Just do it.
And the latest outrage, which I read about in “The New York Times” this morning: Who cares about needing a court order to eavesdrop on American citizens? Want to wiretap their phone conversations? Just do it. What a joke. A very cruel, very sad joke.”