“Words are the most powerful drug used by mankind.” – Rudyard Kipling
Exemplifying the fact that many on the right seem to worship Bush as G-d on Earth, comes the following headline from the Washington Times: Bush vows to end global tyranny. And, the intro:
President Bush was sworn in for his second term yesterday and used his inaugural address to lay out an unapologetically aggressive agenda that amounts to nothing less than “ending tyranny in our world.”
Now, it’s a great thing to want to end tyranny. I’m all for it. I’ve spent my young life fighting it in my own way. And, I’m passionate about it. But, assuming that tyranny can be entirely stopped is a bit unrealistic. It’s rhetoric to be consumed by the faithful. It’s bad rhetoric.
Think about what it means for a minute to truly “end global tyranny”. If such an event were to actually occur, you are essentially talking about an end to war. All war. It would mean the end of oppression. It would be the end of poverty. It would be the end of slavery in all of its forms. It would mean an end to all of those things that empower and are the components of “tyranny”. Granted, we all want such a world to become a reality. But, those of us who deal with real life also understand that such great changes have eluded man and woman since they were expelled from the Garden of Eden.
Now, the faithful are going to wail, “That’s not what Bush means.” But, then, what did Bush mean? It was only the most watched speech of his entire career to date. He’s only the most powerful leader in the entire world. It is important to know what words mean.
One can not simply state “we are going to end tyranny”, as if it were Polio. It is more complicated than that, and making such a statment is deceptive and illusory. It’s rhetorical sleight of hand meant to be neither honest or accurate. It is meant to create an emotional reaction and reinforce the Messianic fervor of the religious base. Thus, there are people who will now swear that the US will destroy tyranny around the world, just like we have destroyed Nazism, and Slavery. We did not, of course. They merely went underground. But, as long as we have rhetoric, the US is the savior of the world, and Bush wields the double edged sword of truth.
From a Judeo-Christian perspective, the one who destroys tyranny – evil essentially – and then ushers in a “thousand years” of peace, is denoted as the Messiah. Because that is what “ending tyranny in our world” would actually mean in a real sense. It would be the proverbial “Second Coming”, the “end of times” and all that it implies. Such word usage is entirely on purpose of course.
President Bush’s speech is riddled with rhetorical code for the true believers who worship him and think him unassailable. It is meant to appeal to their hopes and dreams and their impression of Bush as infallible and capable of saving them all from the evil that confronts them. But, for those of us with a foot firmly planted in reality, the speech is simply not believable. It is entirely “over the top”. It does not, for example, mention Iraq. Not once. But, taken at its word, “ending tyranny” would mean what it means.
It is important for all of us, left and right, to remain fully grounded in reality and understand that the human race has empowered tyranny from the very beginning of history, and will continue to do so until the very end, in some form or another.
Some day, perhaps, we may actually evolve or simply arrive at a point when our petty differences no longer rule our destiny and we do indeed turn our swords into ploughshares. But, I’m not expecting that day to be in my lifetime.
Call me a pessimist if you wish, but my thoughts on this are tempered not by rhetoric, but by history and a basic understanding of human nature. Common sense. Prayer also tempers my view.
We are a violent race. We are an ambitious race. We are also greedy and self serving to a large degree. Our own selfishness often outweighs any consideration of how our acts, deeds and beliefs affect others. The lack of such understanding sows the seeds of tyranny from a multitude of different sides – race, culture, religion, class, and sex to name only a few.
Tyranny can be kept at bay by vigilant adherence to liberty, the rule of law, democracy and a strong moral code. But, eliminating tyranny? That’s a different battle entirely from the one which President Bush is waging around the world and at home.
The key to truly ending tyranny is the ultimate battle. It is the battle for the soul of every single human being on the planet.
And, while I think the President is a formidable politician and the Commander in Chief of the greatest military in the history of the world, I’d venture to say I’m safe in stating that the battle to eliminate evil from the souls of all mankind is a bit out of his league.
