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Gilbert Keith Chesterton
Aug. 2nd, 2004 05:41 pmOne of the more sickening events of the last few days was Candidate Kerry shouting to a mindlessly cheering audience: "I am John Kerry, and I am - reporting - for - DUTY!!" Forget that there are doubts about his supposed heroic record; forget that this Vietnam vet, who is now using his record as an officer to promote himself as a super-patriot to match Bush, started his career as the leader of Vietnam Veterans against the War - which does not show consistency; at least, it is consistent with the personality of a man who insists on publicly taking Communion at the hands of Catholic priests while voting in favour of every single position that the Church has rejected. He manages to be a patriot and a pacifist just as he manages to be a Catholic and an abortion supporter. Bill Clinton, compared to him, was a model of rectitude and straight talking.
The thing is - DON'T get me going about Bush. It is an abominable choice. A couple of years ago, we all laughed - though with an edge in our voice - when the French electorate had to make the choice "Don't vote for the Fascist, vote for the crook". But it seems to me that this is the choice that our political system is increasingly throwing at us: candidates who are both hypocritical and incompetent, often with similar platforms, and, when they are not, with platforms - at least one, and probably both - which are an outrage to ordinary human decency. If not a matter of the Fascist and the crook, the coming American election is a choice between "the corrupt, short-sighted oilman surrounded by some of the lamest ministerial choices in history" vs. "the abortion-promoting hypocrite and liar."
It is not just that the system promotes inflated mediocrities and hypocrites; it positively squashes personality and honesty. Both major parties had better candidates. Howard Dean left the impression that he acted out of principle - however misguided - more than expedience, and McCain actually looks like someone who has a notion as to what integrity and decency mean. They both were chewed up and spat out in favour of candidates whose inadequacy must be clear to everyone. And it is the same story in Italy (Prodi vs. Berlu-scummy), Britain (Bliar vs. Coward), and, of course, France. And those are only the countries I know about.
Today's piece of writing is an essay about one of my heroes, Gilbert K.Chesterton, with a follow-up.
( Read more... )
Here is the follow-up.( Read more... )
The thing is - DON'T get me going about Bush. It is an abominable choice. A couple of years ago, we all laughed - though with an edge in our voice - when the French electorate had to make the choice "Don't vote for the Fascist, vote for the crook". But it seems to me that this is the choice that our political system is increasingly throwing at us: candidates who are both hypocritical and incompetent, often with similar platforms, and, when they are not, with platforms - at least one, and probably both - which are an outrage to ordinary human decency. If not a matter of the Fascist and the crook, the coming American election is a choice between "the corrupt, short-sighted oilman surrounded by some of the lamest ministerial choices in history" vs. "the abortion-promoting hypocrite and liar."
It is not just that the system promotes inflated mediocrities and hypocrites; it positively squashes personality and honesty. Both major parties had better candidates. Howard Dean left the impression that he acted out of principle - however misguided - more than expedience, and McCain actually looks like someone who has a notion as to what integrity and decency mean. They both were chewed up and spat out in favour of candidates whose inadequacy must be clear to everyone. And it is the same story in Italy (Prodi vs. Berlu-scummy), Britain (Bliar vs. Coward), and, of course, France. And those are only the countries I know about.
Today's piece of writing is an essay about one of my heroes, Gilbert K.Chesterton, with a follow-up.
( Read more... )
Here is the follow-up.( Read more... )
