The Poet's Eye
commentary by Lightning Rod
the Poets' Eye is skeptical
without being cynical, innocent
without being naive and
critical without being
judgemental
Bad Apples
05-10-04
The prisoner abuse scandal that has dominated the news this week is an indicator. It suggests that the American public is losing its enchantment with the idea that our efforts in Iraq are noble and heroic or even necessary for that matter.
The prisoner abuses are merely a caricature of the larger picture and the absurdity of any effort to enforce freedom at the point of a gun.
Two theories have been frequently advanced to explain the disgraceful events at Abu Grhaib. One is the Nuremberg defense--I was only following orders, and the other is the Bad Apple excuse--only a few bad actors were responsible for these atrocities. Both are flawed and inapplicable.
The Nuremberg defense works about as well now as it did at Nuremberg. Soldiers act according to orders AND their own morals. Of course those morals are influenced by the general atmosphere created by the culture of their organization, and the moral environment of any organization is set by its leaders. When the President and the VP say that the Geneva Conventions don't apply, that has to influence the behavior of those acting where the rubber meets the road.
The Bad Apple theory doesn't hold water for the same reason. Sure, the bad apple can spoil the whole barrel, and in a public relations sense that has already happened. The entire military has been given a black eye because of the mistreatment scandal. But in this case the whole barrel was rotten to start with. The moral pretext of the entire enterprise of our invasion of Iraq was based on lies, deception and fabrications.
History of the Apple
1. The Forbidden Apple. This is what the First Amendment was designed to correct. God commanded Adam and Eve not to eat the fruit from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. This was an organizational safeguard to prevent them from making mistakes. How can you do evil when you don't know the difference between good and evil? Since we were evicted from Eden we have been condemned to judge for ourselves what is good and evil. We do this based on information. Thus the desirability of a free press.
2. William Tell's Apple. The image of William Tell's Apple is that the arrows of truth, steadfastness and justice will split the apple cleanly with no injury to the innocents below. The Poet's Eye is dripping a tear for the innocents. The arrow shot as low as our expectations for this presidency.
3. Newton's Apple is the perfect image of realization. When the apple hit Newton on the head, secrets of great gravity were imparted to him. One of these was the principle of action-reaction. It doesn't take a physicist to speculate that if you invade a country with a three-thousand year old culture that you might meet some resistance other than from the formal military.
4. Then we have the Poisoned Apple. The two aspects of the poisoned apple are the Sweet and the Bitter. It tastes good going down but the effects are devastating. When the President was basking in glory last May on the decks of the USS Lincoln like Snow White, tasting the sweet victorious fruit for all the world to see, I doubt if his advisors warned him of the impending bellyache.
5.And the Apple in the Mouth of the Pig. This week's roasting of the Bush administration was a rare feast. Sort of a liberal luau. The pig is buried in the sand of Iraq, can't decide if it wants to be baked or fried in oil.
6. Apple Pie. "As American as...." Bushco has, especially since 9/11, tried to swaddle itself in the flag and has even accused its detractors of being un-American. The Ashcroft Justice Department and the newly formed Department of Homeland Insecurity have done more to encroach upon the civil rights of Americans than anything since the Alien and Sedition Acts and Lincoln's suspension of Habeas Corpus during the Civil War. What is next, detention camps for our residents of Middle Eastern descent?
7. The only thing worse to find in your apple than a worm is half a worm. This week when Rumsfeld appeared before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee flanked by the Joint Chiefs, he looked suspiciously like he had just swallowed half a worm. It was hung on his Adam's Apple. You could tell because he kept swallowing hard and looking at his watch. After all, he didn't send our young men and women to Iraq to shoot pictures, he sent them to shoot people.
This brings us to the subject of separating apples from oranges.
The Poet's Eye sees that a liberator is different from an imperialist. If the forces of Imperial Bushco Inc. were liberators as they claim to be, then they would have left Iraq the moment that Saddam was captured and let the Iraqi people determine their own future from that point. We are there for two reasons: 1. To control the second largest oil reserves in the world and 2. To provide a bonanza for favored companies like Halliburton at the expense of the American taxpayer.
The only question is: Will it play in Indianapolis?
.
God didn't make little green apples
And it don't rain in Indianapolis in the summer time
--Russell, as sung by Roger Miller•
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