There is something strange about watching Jon Stewart, a deft political satirist, fall prey to the false god of reasonableness.
Paul Rosenberg explains the danger of Stewart’s stance, reminding us that it lets the bad guys off the hook. As Rosenberg says, Stewart’s objection to calling Bush a war criminal or pointing out the racism in the Tea Party movement (which in no way undercuts the movement’s legitimate rage at our national decay) is logically flawed. Calling Bush a war criminal makes him seem like Pol Pot, Stewart says, which seems extreme. But
If we want our presidents to not be war criminals, we need to make it sound like a bad thing. No, make that a really bad thing.
It’s a conversation-stopper, not a conversation-starter, Stewart explained. Not a problem, I say. Arrest first, then converse. You see, Jon, It really wasn’t cable news that started the Iraq War. It was George Bush & the neocons. They’re the ones we should take of first. There are laws you know?
Just as importantly, Stewart’s argument is based on the notion of motive. If Bush believed his approval of torture, rendition and a misguided and unnecessary war was in the best interest of the country, was done to protect Americans, then he was not a bad guy. Remember, Pol Pot thought he was right, too. It is not about the motivation, but about the action. Bush and his cronies shredded the Constitution in numerous ways and lied us into war — there is no doubt about that, though Stewart suddenly refuses to see that. The former president should be held accountable for this.
If this makes me seem unreasonable, then so be it.
- Send me an e-mail.
- Read poetry at The Subterranean.
- Certainties and Uncertainties a chapbook by Hank Kalet, will be published in November by Finishing Line Press. It can be ordered here.
- Suburban Pastoral, a chapbook by Hank Kalet, available here.
Hank Kalet 