No, that's not how the elder Bush describes W. It's how George W. Bush describes the government of Iraq in his interview with Jim Lehrer tonight on PBS. That remark is the latest of several recent comments that portray Iraq and Iraqis as children, undisciplined and failing to show sufficient gratitude. It is important that we recognize that such remarks do more than just deflect responsibility.
George Lakoff noted in his "Framing, Death, and Democracy" article posted this weekend that Bush's speech last week implied that the U.S. is the strict father that must determine whether Iraqi behavior is acceptable. If Iraqis are misbehaving children, the U.S. must punish them. In that speech, Bush stated, "The situation in Iraq is unacceptable to the American people — and it is unacceptable to me." With his remarks in subsequent interviews, Bush extends this view.
In tonight's interview with Jim Lehrer, Bush responded to questions about the executions of Saddam Hussein, his half-brother, and another co-defendant. Bush characterized them as sending "a confusing message" and acknowledged that the execution of Saddam Hussein "looked like it was kind of a revenge killing." Of the execution, Bush concluded:
"And it sent a mixed signal to the American people and the people around the world. And it just goes to show that this is a government that has still got some maturation to do."
For Bush, the metaphor of an immature Iraqi government serves not only to excuse the failures that are apparent in grisly scenes of violence in Iraq, but also to explain why the U.S. must apply more force. In conservative morality, a father must punish his child until the child learns self-discipline, initially as a way of avoiding the pain of punishment. If the father is too indulgent or loses the will to inflict punishment, then the child will remain immature and undisciplined. Undisciplined children become juvenile delinquents and later criminals or other threats to society.
In an interview with Scott Pelle, which was broadcast on Sunday's 60 Minutes, Bush raised the issue of gratitude:
"We liberated that country from a tyrant. I think the Iraqi people owe the American people a huge debt of gratitude, and I believe most Iraqis express that. I mean, the people understand that we've endured great sacrifice to help them. That's the problem here in America. They wonder whether or not there is a gratitude level that's significant enough in Iraq."
Of course, progressives generally regard the "debt of gratitude" statement as absurd and offensive, and many reacted to the comments with ridicule. (Clara Jeffery on the Mother Jones blog asks whether "a muffin basket" would show sufficient gratitude.) Within the conservative view that Iraq is like a child, however, the issue of gratitude takes on a different meaning. A child may not express gratitude when his father punishes him, but that is no reason for the parent to relent in doing what is best for the child. The child should express gratitude for being taught right from wrong, and probably will someday, when he or she becomes a successful adult.
To those who share this application of strict father morality to Iraq, Bush's view of Iraq as an undisciplined, ungrateful child requires that the U.S. use more violence in order to teach it self-discipline. For that reason, Bush refers to the danger "that the American people lose their will," like a parent who gives in to a disobedient child. In the strict father view, Bush remains the Decider, and the Congress is like a mother who is indecisive or indulgent when the time comes to punish disobedience, a metaphor that is likely heightened with the ascension of Nancy Pelosi to the Speaker's chair. For conservatives, giving in to unacceptable behavior is what leads a misbehaving child to become a failed adult — or a misbehaving country to become a failed state.
Bush's campaign for escalation isn't winning the full support of conservatives, according to the polls. Still, believing that a child who is not taught self-discipline will become an dangerous adult, many conservatives and some biconceptuals are likely to resist calls to withdraw troops from Iraq, viewing such calls as signs of weakness. Rockridge Nation member jamatucci1 suggests reframing Bush himself as the irresponsible child. While progressives have long depicted Bush in that manner, a possible confrontation with Congress regarding authority over escalation could raise the issue further. What do you think are effective ways to dispel the belief that Iraq is like a child and requires continued U.S. military involvement to achieve maturity and become responsible?