World War II envy
For Christopher Hitchens, the war is apparently all about him.
It would seem, if this account of Hitchens's conduct is accurate, that the reason he's so gung-ho in favor of both the War In Iraq, and everything else Bush and co. have done in the name of "fighting terror," is a desperate need to feel like the modern equivalent of those brave steely-eyed anti-Nazi and anti-Communist voices who stood up to the evil bad guys when fainter hearts wanted to negotiate.
I believe it. I've always been a bit puzzled by the apparent belief, on the part of war supporters, that a handful of unwashed guys living in caves, however homicidal, and a two-bit dictator who had nothing to do with them are the modern equivalent of Hitler or Stalin. I'm sorry, but they're not, folks. It takes more than being a bad person to make you a Hitler-sized threat. You also have to have a lot more power and, frankly, much grander designs than these people have.
We have to deal with them, sure. But this is not 1939. This is not 1961.
And personally, I'm happy about that. While I'm not happy about things like 9/11, I'll take the modern geopolitical era over the terrifying conflicts of the mid-20th century.
But you always hear World War II and the Cold War invoked, the suggestion being that anyone who isn't in favor of our current military entanglements, who isn't wetting himself with fear on a daily basis, is an "appeaser" of Neville Chamberlain's stripe.
That's nonsense. And I always waver between two explanations. For Rumsfeld, when he makes that comparison, I do think he's just trying to manipulate us, pressing buttons he knows are powerful in order to stifle dissent.
But for people like Hitchens, the true believers, I really do think there's a longing to be remembered by history as one of the brave, clear-eyed realists who stood up to history's great chellenges, which creates a powerful incentive to see everything in stark, apocalyptic terms.
What's frightening is, I think Bush is in the second category. He wants to be Lincoln, he wants to be Truman, he wants to be one of those presidents. He wants it so badly that he's mentally turned Saddam into Hitler.
I'm unsettled by the notion that from the top down, the events of our era are being driven by people who have invented monsters so they can look cool slaying them.
It would seem, if this account of Hitchens's conduct is accurate, that the reason he's so gung-ho in favor of both the War In Iraq, and everything else Bush and co. have done in the name of "fighting terror," is a desperate need to feel like the modern equivalent of those brave steely-eyed anti-Nazi and anti-Communist voices who stood up to the evil bad guys when fainter hearts wanted to negotiate.
I believe it. I've always been a bit puzzled by the apparent belief, on the part of war supporters, that a handful of unwashed guys living in caves, however homicidal, and a two-bit dictator who had nothing to do with them are the modern equivalent of Hitler or Stalin. I'm sorry, but they're not, folks. It takes more than being a bad person to make you a Hitler-sized threat. You also have to have a lot more power and, frankly, much grander designs than these people have.
We have to deal with them, sure. But this is not 1939. This is not 1961.
And personally, I'm happy about that. While I'm not happy about things like 9/11, I'll take the modern geopolitical era over the terrifying conflicts of the mid-20th century.
But you always hear World War II and the Cold War invoked, the suggestion being that anyone who isn't in favor of our current military entanglements, who isn't wetting himself with fear on a daily basis, is an "appeaser" of Neville Chamberlain's stripe.
That's nonsense. And I always waver between two explanations. For Rumsfeld, when he makes that comparison, I do think he's just trying to manipulate us, pressing buttons he knows are powerful in order to stifle dissent.
But for people like Hitchens, the true believers, I really do think there's a longing to be remembered by history as one of the brave, clear-eyed realists who stood up to history's great chellenges, which creates a powerful incentive to see everything in stark, apocalyptic terms.
What's frightening is, I think Bush is in the second category. He wants to be Lincoln, he wants to be Truman, he wants to be one of those presidents. He wants it so badly that he's mentally turned Saddam into Hitler.
I'm unsettled by the notion that from the top down, the events of our era are being driven by people who have invented monsters so they can look cool slaying them.
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