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| Fifth Column |
| Blaming the Iraq war on . . . Gary Cooper? |
| 2008-06-17 |
| Norman Geras @ "Normblog" Spot the... well, let's just say dimwit, shall we? I like Rich Hall as a comedian, but when he brings his diagnostic powers to political matters he's less impressive. Hall is of the view that the Iraq war is the fault of... the western: The western has shaped not just the way Hollywood thinks, but the way America thinks. And one of the country's big problems right now is that the man currently with the reins in his hands thinks he's in High Noon. Hall puts it better. "We're at war with Iraq because some bible-thumping, tongue-tied, pretzel-choking fuckwit of a president actually convinced enough people he was some kind of Gary Cooper hero come to bring justice against evil folks." The thing about reductive thinking is that, while it purports to simplify the world, what it really reveals is the simple mind responsible for it. Opposing the war Hall, like the rest of the many Iraq-war smugwits in the camp of those who opposed the war, favoured the continuation, sine die, of a regime of torture and murder. This has induced in them no moderation, however, much less humility, only a kind of prancing contempt. That is the measure of their moral seriousness. |
| Posted by:Mike |
| #8 p.s. John Wayne kicks Gary Cooper's ass! |
| Posted by: g(r)omgoru 2008-06-17 17:01 |
| #7 I conclude the lefties will never go to war Tell it to the Serbs, wxjames. For that matter, you ever speculated what would've happened to Israel if we didn't have a lot of mushrooms and a way to sow them in the Percian Gulf's oil fields. |
| Posted by: g(r)omgoru 2008-06-17 15:01 |
| #6 Actually she takes out the last bad guy. The Quaker lady the only one willing to stand by him even after she'd boarded the train out of town with the hussy her hubby knew too well. And he didn't quit, he retired as a condition of getting married to the Quaker. And I don't agree with with Hall, but I do think it is an apt analogy, because after he knocked off the first bad guy Bush did go to the UNSC to go after the second bad guy and nobody would stand up with him, except Blair. Even the Turks renegged after the energetic /sarc diplomacy of Colin Powell, in the Lloyd Bridges role. Ultimately Bush did what had to be done. Now that victory is around the corner in Iraq, a thousand fathers are starting to emerge into the daylight. I wish that Bush would throw his star into the dirt on his way out of town, but first he has to finish the last bad guy. All Alone. Except for the |
| Posted by: Nimble Spemble 2008-06-17 14:41 |
| #5 Gee, has the punk ever seen "High Noon"? Its not a good analogy for Bush and Iraq. This was about a town marshal left on his own (Bush at least had a willing coalition including a pretty hefty well armed deputy in Blair) to face down a bunch of killers bent on saving their leader from the gallows. After quitting (which Bush did not do) and then coming back to reclaim his badge he takes on the killers and kills 2. But the gallow-bound bad guy takes his wife hostage and the marshal has to choose between her and the bad guy's justice. Then he takes him out and throws his badge in the dirt in disgust at the cowardly town and their reluctance to help him. Someone please show me the relevance here to Mr. Bright Guy Hall's comments? |
| Posted by: Jack is Back! 2008-06-17 13:35 |
| #4 I conclude the lefties will never go to war, not to defend freedom, not even to defend themselves, so I propose we go to war against them. Now, soon, before they become the majority. (not that it matters, except they will legislate to outlaw conservatism.) |
| Posted by: wxjames 2008-06-17 10:59 |
| #3 High Noon is a nice metaphor for the American experience with others in our foriegn policy but not for a particular president. The funny thing is Hall puts himself in the position of one of the cowards in that film. Nice to know where he stands. |
| Posted by: rjschwarz 2008-06-17 10:58 |
| #2 Sigh... once more confusing coincidence with causality. Has not Mr. Hall ever heard of the Jacksonian tradition in American life? My sense is that the popularity of Western movies - and Bush taking on Iraq are two different expressions of the Jacksonian mind-set - not Westerns-caused-GBW to think he was in High Noon, as Mr. Hall seems to think. And he was last funny when he wrote "Sniglets". |
| Posted by: Sgt. Mom 2008-06-17 08:05 |
| #1 Have we not brought the swift sword of justice to several hundred thousand bad guys? I think Richie should go to bed and let the grownups talk now. |
| Posted by: bigjim-ky 2008-06-17 07:45 |