On June 24th, my son turned 7 months. It's a beautiful, tender age. When I pay attention, I can see that he is no longer that unconscious blob that does nothing but eat shit sleep (do it again). He has a personality now and he smiles sometimes just because he knows it makes me happy. In the roundness of his face and depth of his eyes I see echoes of myself and of my father and of the grandfathers I never knew. And when he falls asleep in my arms, his eyes closed, I see the infinite future there in a tiny and profound way.
Of all people, Karl Rove made me realize how much we all are like my seven month old son.
Occasionally, something will catch his eye and he will reach for it. Often this object is harmless and of no importance and so I let him grasp and take it in his hands, manipulate it, stick it in his mouth and work it with his gums to provide some relief for the teeth that are cutting through. But sometimes, it's an object that I fear will cause some damage if he gets his hands on it (a pen that can potentially burst, a flower that might be poisonous). In these instances, I can very quickly find some other random object and, with a quick motion, switch the two objects fast enough that he doesn't notice the difference. And so the flower disappears and is replaced with a plastic spoon that he grabs and chews upon, never realizing that the object of his original interest has been replaced.
Of all people, Karl Rove made me realize how much we all are like my seven month old son. Within our grasp is an absolutely beautiful object that we have been reaching for, something concrete that we've all recognized as something of great value. And with a slight of hand, he has replaced it with something useless that we can grind our teeth upon for the purpose of momentary relief.
What we know is this: George W. Bush and his associates lied to the Congress and to the American people for the purpose of initiating a war in Iraq, exploiting the attacks on September 11 to make their case convincing. This is the object that has finally caught the eye of the American public, the truth that is even now sinking in. We are living in times of great unconsciousness in a country of people that are unable to focus. Through the post-modern fog there is a light shining with increasing intensity upon the singular truth that George W. Bush and his associates lied to the Congress and to the American people for the purpose of initiating a war in Iraq, exploiting the attacks on September 11 to make their case convincing. The polls show it. The Administration is aware that this is taking place.
As mainstream America reaches for the flower, puts forward a tentative hand to grasp the reality of the situation for a closer look, the administration (in the guise of Rove) pulls a slight of hand and effortlessly substitutes the object of our attention. Liberals are traitors. It's as easy of that. Think about the energy that is at this moment is being expended to condemn, refute, vilify those remarks. Where should that energy really be going? Ted Kennedy was suggesting to Rumsfeld that he should resign because of the atrocity of the war and Hillary Clinton interrupted to ask what people thought about Karl Rove and his meaningless rhetoric.
Whether it's Downing Street or lives being lost on Main Street, the focus must remain The War. Why Are We There? Why Were We Lied To? Encourage everyone who is putting energy into condemning Rove to instead put that same energy into a focused effort to educate EVERYONE about the fact that George W. Bush and his associates lied to the Congress and to the American people for the purpose of initiating a war in Iraq, exploiting the attacks on September 11 to make their case convincing. They will hold up plastic spoons and brightly colored toys. They will come up and slap our faces and tickle our fancies. Encourage everyone you know to stay focused, to move beyond the consciousness of a seven month old. Now is the time for adult behavior, to have unflinching faith in the notion that the truth shall make us free:
George W. Bush and his associates lied to the Congress and to the American people for the purpose of initiating a war in Iraq, exploiting the attacks on September 11 to make their case convincing.
