By Father Brett Hoover
www.bustedhalo.com
The critical value of bitching
Recently I was reminded that this particular duty has very early roots. When the Continental Congress declared independence from Great Britain in 1776, it charged Thomas Jefferson with included in that declaration a list of American greviances against the mother country and, more specifically, its king, George III. As a result, the majority of the Declaration of Independence , believe it or not, is devoted to vivid complaints about the British king and his government.
But, hey, probably most of us would recognize the need for a certain amount of constructive criticism to keep government on its toes. To make it current, none other than the mighty New York Times noted in the spring of 2004 that its own failure to adequately critique the Bush Administrations case for WMDs in Iraq had a negative impact on the accountability of the U.S. government.
People who hate people
But what happens when our patriotic duty to bitch strays in focus from actions and policies to people?
In other words, imagine if Jefferson had not stayed on topic, and had concluded the Declaration by writing, and the king hath also been shown to display the wrong-headed character of a despicable lout and cad.
The ad hominem attack is, of course, the easiest and cheapest of the whining arts, and its been around since the beginning of the American republic. President George Washington found himself being accused in the opposition press of acting and being treated like a king (George IV), about the worst possible insult in the post-revolutionary days.
If its politics as usual, however, that doesnt mean any of us in the citizenry should jump on board. Yes, George W. Bush and John Kerry are assailing each other with television ads of dubious truthfulness, but should we be proud of that?
Enemies of God
The French philosopher Rene Girard claims that scapegoatingselecting and blaming a particular person for the ills of societyhas been part of the way human beings hold social groups together from the beginning. He also has written, interestingly enough, that Christian theology is the death knell for this, since it makes God the victim.
When Jesus came to earth, identified himself with the downtrodden, and was crucified, he essentially showed us once and for all that whenever we villify someone, we are in essence making ourselves the enemies of God.
Unfahrenheit 911?
Recently I saw Michael Moores film Fahrenheit 911 in a Manhattan theater (alongside two bemused conservatives). Treated to Moores disjointed, even whimsical investigation of the Bush administrations mono-focus on Iraq, I agreed with him that the war there has been a costly and dangerous distraction from any actual defense of our nation against terrorism. His explorations of the human cost of the war for Americans and Iraqis, and the advantages of it for American businesses, certainly bolster his case.
Unfortunately, Michael Moores own mono-focuson relentlessly whacking George W. Bush with a cinematic wooden spoonoften gets in the way of his movie and his message.
It's all summed up near the beginning as the camera centers on Bush, stunned. The president is reading along with Florida schoolchildren in the moments after he has heard the news about the 9/11 attacks. In voiceover narration, Moore happily invites us to imagine the explanation for the presidents relative inaction at that moment, even suggesting what Bush is thinking (none of it is surmised to include national security or concern for the dead or wounded). Simple question: how the hell does he know?
The beginning of a long raking of Bush over the coals, this scene symbolizes the problema genuine political argument over the fate and future of the nation is lost amidst a filmmaker's impugning of the presidents sincerity and intelligence. The message is compromised. So much for critical patriotism.
Michael Moore should be more careful, as should all of us. Only the arrogant think that in making your opponent the scapegoat, you will come off scot free.
Fr. Brett Hoover is the co-founder of BustedHalo.com
Article was added to FaithandValues.com on August 16, 2004.