So even though he did something unspeakable, he felt really bad about it --- and that makes it all OK?
Are historians going to look back at our age and conclude that this was one of the delusions that destroyed us --- this obsession with what people say and think, rather than what they do and with the consequences of their actions.
Supposed conservatives seem to measure GWB by his speeches claiming all sorts of wonmderful things, and ignoring the reality of what he has done, while democrats are not much better in terms of claiming to be the party of the poor and underpriviledged, but tearing the various presidential candidates apart based on purely rhetorical issues with zero concern for actual policies.
Well I'm sure the Palestians involved in that fracas will be glad to hear that their tormentors feel guilty.
So even though he did something unspeakable, he felt really bad about it --- and that makes it all OK?
Certainly not. I thought the story did a pretty good job of conveying the fact that it's not OK at all. But I didn't want, in this post, to concentrate on condemnation. I'm not optimistic that after just one other terrorist attack in the US, that we would hear many voices of authority questioning the humanity of whatever measures would be put into place. It may be that Israelis have "come out the other side" so to speak, and are finally understanding the destructiveness of their policies, but even so, no awakening is foreordained and I thought it was noteworthy.
So even though he did something unspeakable, he felt really bad about it --- and that makes it all OK?
Are historians going to look back at our age and conclude that this was one of the delusions that destroyed us --- this obsession with what people say and think, rather than what they do and with the consequences of their actions.
Supposed conservatives seem to measure GWB by his speeches claiming all sorts of wonmderful things, and ignoring the reality of what he has done, while democrats are not much better in terms of claiming to be the party of the poor and underpriviledged, but tearing the various presidential candidates apart based on purely rhetorical issues with zero concern for actual policies.
Well I'm sure the Palestians involved in that fracas will be glad to hear that their tormentors feel guilty.
Posted by Maynard Handley | Link to this comment | 11-18-03 2:38 PM
So even though he did something unspeakable, he felt really bad about it --- and that makes it all OK?
Certainly not. I thought the story did a pretty good job of conveying the fact that it's not OK at all. But I didn't want, in this post, to concentrate on condemnation. I'm not optimistic that after just one other terrorist attack in the US, that we would hear many voices of authority questioning the humanity of whatever measures would be put into place. It may be that Israelis have "come out the other side" so to speak, and are finally understanding the destructiveness of their policies, but even so, no awakening is foreordained and I thought it was noteworthy.
Posted by ogged | Link to this comment | 11-18-03 3:26 PM