Can't handle the truth

Can’t handle the truth. There was some movie a few years ago that featured Jack Nicholson who played some kind of Army or Marine officer. I didn’t see this movie (I haven’t seen a movie for years except for an occasional ethnographic film) but I know it had Nicholson say the line, “you can’t handle the truth,” in a very forceful way. I only know this because they featured it on the news for quite some time. I think the line comes in handy right now when considering the Reverend Jeremiah Wright situation. Critics of Wright (and Obama) just can’t seem to let this rest. They keep playing one or more of Wright’s sermons over and over, outraged that he had the temerity to criticize America (god dam America). The vehemence with which they attack Wright and Obama seems to me not commensurate with its importance. There are many critics of America nowadays and they often say things just as bad or worse. As near as I can determine the Reverend has said nothing that hasn’t been said elsewhere and, in fact, hasn’t said anything that isn’t probably true except his rash claim that the U.S. deliberately created aids to harm blacks (even here, however, don’t forget that the Government did, in fact, deliberately bring about syphilis in blacks to see how it would play out and left it untreated). It is undeniably true that the Bush/Cheney administration deliberately lied to get us involved in an illegal “war” with Iraq. It is also undeniably true that under their direction we tortured prisoners in violation of the law and international conventions. We also killed civilians, including many women and children, in violation of the law, and have been involved in other known war crimes as well. These are the main things Reverend Wright preached against when he made his incendiary remarks, all true things that have been said before by others (but not repeated ad nauseum on television). Right wing preachers like Falwell, Robertson, Hagee, and others of their ilk have said things just as bad or worse, but their outrageous statements are not played over and over again. So what is it specifically about Wright’s sermons that is so troubling to these critics? There is, of course, the obvious reason, they want to destroy Obama and they are not opposed to using blatantly racist tactics to do so. But I submit this is a problem that transcends Wright and Obama, and even transcends race itself. It has mainly to do with the simple fact that they “cannot handle the truth.” They want to continue in denial as they can’t face the truth of America’s war crimes. They don’t, or even can’t, bring themselves to admit that what we have done in Iraq is inexcusable and in principle, un-American. How could America, that beacon on the hill, that bright spot in the world, that best nation on earth, that god-fearing Christian outpost in a world of evil, have possibly have done anything wrong. But we have, and they cannot bring themselves to admit it. And they don’t want to hear about it, especially from the pulpit of an angry black preacher (even though he is an ex-Marine and the pastor of a large and respectable church). Because of this Obama has no choice but to disavow it. No prospective President of the United States, at this time, and in this context, could possibly dare say he agreed with this basic truth, because the voting public “cannot handle the truth,” and would not accept it. Truth, as we all should know by now, has no place in American politics.

It strikes me that the past few days in Iraq have revealed a most unpleasant truth. The much vaunted “surge” probably had nothing to do with the level of violence in Iraq. The level of violence is probably controlled by the Iraqis themselves, particularly by Muqtada al-Sadr and his large and effective militia. Now that he has called off the truce he observed for the past few months the violence has escalated and will continue to escalate if he desires it to do so. The surge may have had some effect in Bagdad neighborhoods but that is, at best, what it may have accomplished. But remember, millions of Iraqis have fled their country and hundreds of thousands have died. The violence would have to have somewhat subsided whether there were additional troops or not. This, coupled with al-Sadr’s truce almost certainly had more to do with the level of violence than the surge. Even the so-called safe Green Zone has been under attack in recent days. The market where McCain previously walked, aided by a hundred armed troops, helicopters and gunships, is now too dangerous for him to repeat it. So much for “success” and “progress” in Iraq. I will not be surprised to hear Bush tell us next that pigs are now flying and peace has been achieved in Palestine.

LKBIQ:
“Ordinarily he was insane, but he had lucid moments when he was merely stupid.”
Heinrich Heine