There was some good stuff on C-SPAN this weekend, including a speech by Linda Monk, the author of the excellent annotation of the Constitution for the general reader, Words We Live By. One of the authors on Book TV was Michael Cannon, Jr., a military chaplain and author of Abu Ghraib: Reflections in the Looking Glass . He talked in part how the wrongs committed there is a reflection of the problems of society itself in part because many were performed by civilian soldiers, not career types. No, the career types just set up the atmosphere that allowed them to do so.
Nonetheless, I must admit that he lost me when he started to defend the war itself. The war, he argued, was set forth to defend liberty. And, no matter what people say, the men and women out there continue to fight for that purpose: the liberty of Iraqis and ultimately for us all. Sorry, Mr. Cannon. The war was sold as a fight against WMDs. Many did feel it was a matter of liberty and fighting an evil dictator ... why we chose this one raises a lot more troubling questions.
You cannot go on and on about the glories and complexities of liberty without dealing with the problem. The Downing Street Memo (discussed by blogs everywhere, including here and here) shouts the point from the rooftops. The latest is that there is clear evidence that we went to U.N. not to avoid war, but as a means to go to war -- Saddam's intransigence would give us an excuse. And, no it's not just the musings of some nobody, but a (basically undisputed) account of top British officials.
Cannon is right that "liberty" is not merely license, the empty pursuit of happiness. It is a complex matter that in part involves certain responsibilities, though to some, this does not sound like fun at all. Part of this responsibility is not, to be blunt, try to sell us crap that the promotion of "freedom" alone is what got us this far. And, if someone of his caliber can do so, it suggests how far bad things truly are. Are we to ignore this because our fellow citizens are dying because of the wrongs of our leaders? No.*
On a lighter note, the commentary track to the As Good As It Gets DVD is pretty good with the stars of the movie joining with the director. Listening to Jack Nicolson talk about his craft is quite striking. Oh, and Nicole Kidman (born in Hawaii) just walked on Davies show ... Darn she is tall and light. Yeah, that's some segue, but she's much better to contemplate than the [expletive deleted] running the country.
---
* On a related point, is it okay to criticize the war yet? You know, just wondering.