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President Thumb
Lifesavas - What If It's True
Lifesavas - Livin Time
Radiohead - The Gloaming (DJ Shadow's Bush Remix)
I’m in a positive geopolitical mood today, whatever that means, and for the first time in awhile, I’m seeing more positive things happening around the world than negative. People in the middle east are voting, dictators are calling for elections, puppet regimes are crumbling. Even liberal folks on the left are starting to give President Bush some credit for his role in all this. In case you’ve been under a rock, here’s what I’m talking about:
A question is haunting the blue states of America: Could George W. Bush be right? Is freedom indeed "on the march"? Did the war in Iraq uncork a white tornado that's whooshing democracy across the region and beyond?
In just the past two months, free elections were held in Palestine and Iraq; a rigged election was overturned and an honest one re-held in Ukraine; the Egyptian president pledged to hold competitive elections soon, too; and a popular uprising against Syria's occupation of Lebanon forced Beirut's puppet government to resign—all this, amid President Bush's proclamation that the main aim of American foreign policy is to advance the cause of global freedom.
For liberals to say that Bush even “might” be right is a HUGE difference from about a year ago. So, the question of the day is: What if it’s true? What if the seedlings of freedom are starting to poke out of the soil in the middle east?
I was watching the old western “High Noon” starring Gary Cooper a few weekends ago, and it struck me how similar the Sheriff’s situation in that movie mirrored that of President Bush. The parallels are uncanny. In this little town, a bad guy who used to terrorize and control the town is getting out of state prison and will be back in town on the noon train. For most of the movie the sheriff, who’s about to retire, is going around trying to round up a posse to protect the town when the baddie returns to start his revenge killing spree. One by one, everyone in town turns him down and declines to help him stop the baddie. Giving one valid, logical reason after another even the town’s church members won’t help him. Looking for advise, the sheriff goes and consults the wise, old, previous sheriff whose been retired for years. This is what he says: “People gotta talk themselves into law and order before they do anything about it. Maybe because down deep they don't care. They just don't care.” Now, I’m not saying that everybody who opposed the war just didn’t care. But, Gary Cooper’s character cared a lot about justice, freedom from tyranny, and doing what’s right and I think President Bush does too. And to think the movie was considered unpatriotic and un-American when it came out. Huh, kinda makes ya think...
The two Lifesavas (part of the Quannum crew) tracks are from their “Spirit in Stone” album, and they’re coming from a pretty unique perspective in the world of hip hop. Check the tracks and see. The production is the hotness, woo! Watch out! I’ve seen the Lifesavas three times in concert and they’re a good live act too, catch em if you can. The Radiohead track is a remix by DJ Shadow and the opening of the song is why I posted it. Shadow took this one speech from Bush and used a bunch of dialogue from it. It’s pretty funny…until the Radiohead part starts. Is there a more paranoid, unhappy band than Radiohead? I’ve seen their documentary film and I don’t think so. But, I figured the Radiohead perspective would balance out the first two tracks.
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3 comments:
Ridiculous, Koopa.
It's funny how quickly the justifications for the war are forgotten. Did we invade Iraq to spread democracy in the region or did we go there because they were an imminent threat? We was lied to holmes, straight up. Also, I think there was a significant portion of the country who was offended not by the fact that we went to war, but because we went on false justifications, and then, when we got there, it was handled so poorly. That being said, it can't be denied that the consequences of our actions so far look promising.
Two bigger questions, though, are 1) what's going to happen next and 2) do these people in power really know what they're doing and how can we trust them?
I would suggest not getting all warm and fuzzy inside just because Iraq had elections - it doesn't make that country (at the present) any less lawless. Time will tell if it gets better or worse.
And dude, High Noon = pretty spotty analogy. Any person that has stood alone during a crisis could be compared to Gary Cooper (whether it was a president, a dictator, or a child molestor). And was Iraq really getting ready to raid our village and rape our lovely wives?
Anyway, it's this cynic's opinion that world will keep getting worse before it gets better. Freedom's on the march.
Geez, who pooped in your bran flakes this morning? You sound inconsolable.
I'm only commenting on the RESULTS of Bush's actions, I don't agree with or condone the way we went into war. It should've been handled better, but I still believe Saddam should've been removed. Have you read Christopher Hitchens stuff? I'm w/ him on it. As far as what happens now, of course there are big problems down the road. We'll be dealing with problems in this region until the end of the world comes. But, can't we take a moment, a snap shot of the present, and say "Hey, things are actually looking better than they were last year at this time." What happens now depends on foreign policy decisions from this point forward, nothing is "finished".
And, the High Noon analogy works just fine thank you. Just because you're more familiar with it than I am doesn't make it less applicable. Things that are cliche aren't any less true. Standing up to the baddie that no one else wants to is the point. You can poke holes in any analogy, but this one holds enough water to work.
At least some one's commenting though. It's like pulling teeth getting people to comment on here. And, I knew I'd be goading you w/ this post...thanks for taking the bait.
Buster, we're trying to SAVE Iraq and the Middle East from the tiny minority of terrorists who are strapping bombs to themselves. They're not one in the same.
And, I'm having problems w/ my server site, so keep holding, today's songs should be up soon.
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