How did we find ourselves living in a bad novel? It was not ever thus. Hypocrites, cranks and scoundrels have always been with us, on both sides of the aisle. But 9/11 created an environment some liberals summarize with the acronym Iokiyar: it’s O.K. if you’re a Republican.
From Paul Krugman’s Op Ed piece, “Worse Than Fiction,” in which he explains:
The public became unwilling to believe bad things about those who claim to be defending the nation against terrorism. And the hypocrites, cranks and scoundrels of the right, empowered by the public’s credulity, have come out in unprecedented force.
Apologists for the administration would like us to forget all about the Kerik affair, but Bernard Kerik perfectly symbolizes the times we live in. Like Rudolph Giuliani and, yes, President Bush, he wasn’t a hero of 9/11, but he played one on TV. And like Mr. Giuliani, he was quick to cash in, literally, on his undeserved reputation.
Yesterday, author Gerald Pomper was interviewed on my local NPR station about his new book, Ordinary Heroes and American Democracy. Pomper’s definition of “hero” is an ordinary person doing his/her job extraordinarly well at a moment in history that positively affects that moment in history. He cites, for example, the firefighters at the 9/11 scene.
Krugman is right about the bad novel that America has become, and I agree with him that:
The principal objection to making Mr. Gonzales attorney general is that doing so will tell the world that America thinks it’s acceptable to torture people. But his confirmation will also be a statement about ethics
And on tv last night, a commerical for some violent interactive mercinary game shouts: Blow ’em up! Blow ’em up! Blow the crap out of ’em!
This is America today. But IOKIYAR