This is my first diary. I had planned a more fully formed initiation on a different topic, and even have a draft that I'm working on at home. But this morning, argh, his voice on the radio. That voice. I had to just write this. I'm breaking it out on my lunch break. It's just like pulling off a band-aid I suppose, best to just do it fast.
According to CNN, "President Bush today vowed again not to support removal of U.S. troops before the mission in Iraq is complete. 'We can accept nothing less than victory for our children and our grandchildren,' Bush said."
I heard another version of his pronouncement this morning on NPR. My eyes went skyward and I groaned out loud my meek protest to the gods. "There isn't going to BE victory," I screamed! "This man is not dealing with reality, obviously."
What was so frustrating to me about this? He claims, despite all evidence to the contrary, that somehow the mission can be accomplished. That pesky evidence. Must be related to that science stuff that gets in the way too.
How could I best sum up the conflict between reality and Bush's speeches? It's not just that I disagree with him. Reality disagrees with him. He's waiting til we get to B and we are simply, and without doubt, heading to C.
And then the image came to me. The political cartoon that I could draw, if I could only draw. Despite the overuse of the Titanic metaphor when it comes to this administration, it sums it up for me.
Imagine, the giant boat sinking, yet the captain refuses to release the lifeboats. "We will not leave this ship until we reach the harbor of New York City. We will not accept anything but complete victory." And all those around him stare in awe. How can he not see? We are going down. There is no forward motion.
Crew members fight with their last earthly energies to save the boat. They struggle through flooded passageways, seeking out the leaks, hoping beyond hope that indeed the ONE leak responsible for the sinking of the ship might be found. They accept their fates, but hope that if they are to die, they might die to save their friends.
The captain admonishes those who gather around the lifeboats. "We will not leave this ship until we reach the harbor of New York City. We will not accept anything but complete victory."
One additional visual note though, a crucial detail. The Captain isn't actually on the ship. Please accept some creative license here. He is only seen on the ship via a satellite link. He appears prominently on a monitor, tied down bravely to the stern. As the ship tilts, his head faces sideways, his up and down at odds with the up and down of those on the ship. His reality at odds with the reality of those soon to perish.
"We will not leave until we have completed our mission," he says, sitting warm and dry, thousands of miles away, food on the table, loved ones safe from harm, feet on solid ground.