The Unexamined Life
I freely admit to being something less than a fan of our current President. To say I harbor deep suspicions about his ability to handle a job of such complexity is to be dismissive of what I mean by the use of the words “suspicions” and “ability.” This week’s revelation of the role Karl Rove played in revealing the identity of then CIA operative Valerie Plame provides yet another insight into the world of our embattled President, the world of the unexamined life. What will Bush do now faced with the revelation that his most senior advisor may have at least violated Bush’s internal White House policy, and at worst have violated the law? Gleeful Democrats are already no doubt ecstatically ruminating over the possibility of a Rove-less Bush, the “cut off the head and the snake will die” analogy finding new life in Washington.
“But wait”, you might say, “Bush is a loyalist, a leader, someone who stands by his staff when the chips are down instead of turning on them because it would be politically advantageous.” Perhaps. But lest we mistake bravery for deafness when a soldier refuses to duck because he can not hear incoming enemy fire, we might give pause and reflect for just the slightest of moments on whether or not this President’s handling of other similar situations shows solidarity or senselessness.
Rumsfeld and company plan, in the moments immediately post-9/11, for an invasion of Iraq. Granted the plan does fulfill the media-mandate of being full of “shock and awe.” Several years into the plan, it turns out, it was also horribly short sighted and incomplete. Does Bush make a change at the top? No. Gonzalez and company plan in the aftermath of 9/11, with a society frozen in fear, for new executive powers, the suspension of habeas corpus and broader interpretations of allowable internment sans the whole “Geneva Convention” thing. These lead to private contractors conducting illegal interrogations, and a number of oversights best exemplified by Abu Ghraib. Does Bush replace Gonzalez? No. Gonzalez is actually being circulated as a possible replacement to Sandra Day O’Connor. George Tenet promises that coalition forces will find WMD’s in Iraq (the infamous “slam dunk” Woodward thankfully ensconced for future generations in his Bush at War), but none are found. Does Bush replace Tenet? No, Tenet retires and his silence is bought off by a Presidential Medal of Freedom.
Bush reminds me of the character Fiyero from the musical Wicked, in the piece “Dancing Through Life.” In it, Fiyero says “They want you to become less callow, less shallow, But I say: why invite stress in? Stop studying strife, and learn to live ‘the unexamined life.’” If the Bush administration’s time in office is ever put to music, I am confident this piece will be of some theatric value. The impish quality of Bush’s “Who, Me?!?” Mad Magazine cover-boy response to questions about his policies quickly fades when we realize his response is not so innocent, and is a not-so-cloaked “Who, [are] You?!?” to question him and his policies.
Of all the precious moments when President Bush shows his always insightful grasp of the issues and pithy wisdom in front of the American electorate at-large, perhaps few are as memorable as one of his rare first-term evening press conferences when he was asked what he would do differently, and what mistakes he had made. His Daffy-Duck like response not withstanding, Bush seemed to be as incredulous over having been asked such a question as he was at having been forced to open up and share with his electorate what lessons he has learned while in the most important office in the land.
As we look at how President Bush handles Karl Rove’s leaking Plame’s name to the press we would do well not to make the essential lesson about Bush his hypocrisy over promising to fire anyone within the White House that has been found leaking to the press. What we should be looking at is why again this President almost blindly stands by someone who has been caught with their hand in the proverbial cookie jar: is it loyalty or lethargy? Is it really a sign of strength or is he simply unwilling to change, to admit he needs different counsel? My suspicion is that Bush fears the introspective life in no small part because he draws his positions from those around him, and not from within himself. To change those he surrounds himself with is to throw his world into chaos because they are his anchors, his foundation, the means by which his world makes sense. More frightening than an unintelligent man in the office of the President is a man who is in an office of such import but who refuses to live the self-examined life. Perhaps he is not capable of such an act, or perhaps he finds it beneath him. Neither is a particular exciting possibility to entertain.
previous post: A Glimpse Forward
next post: Competing Truth Claims
One Response to “The Unexamined Life”
Leave a Reply
About MysteriousFaith
“If anyone can show me, and prove to me, that I am wrong in thought or deed, I will gladly change. I seek the truth, which never yet hurt anybody. It is only persistence in self-delusion and ignorance which does harm.”
Themes
Now Reading
Search
Favorites
Personal Writing
Theology
Categories
Meta Data
July 16th, 2005 at 7:42 am
Bushi bush to me is like a little spoily kid: he gets away with everything, because he has the right daddy / contacts.
The most agravating thing: how come he did get re-elected???
I did not like Mr. ketchup, but I believed Ms ketchup would have given a very new fresh air at the white house (indeed needed, with her smartnes, background and international sensitiviness), and my admiration goes to Kerry, by marring such a lady (most men would admire her but not have the guts to marry her).