"There was a little toolshed where he made us suffer...

[mikelewis]

I really don't understand the Republican mind. This post was inspired by a conversation I had with my "fundie" boss. To be fair "and balanced", he's come a long way over the past few years. The Iraq war began to sour in his mouth after the 2004 election and when faced with the stark cold reality of Katrina, he was completely turned against Bush. In fact, now he may hate him more than he thinks I do... (FYI, I don't hate Bush... I pity him but that's another post).

We were discussing the hanging of Saddam and he said, "well, at least he's finally got what was coming to him." I didn't want to get too far into a conversation about this with him because I know better than to try to pour new wine into an old wineskin but I did tell him that I wished we hadn't been involved in hanging him and that there may come a time in the near future we may even regret being involved. He seemed taken aback by this as though it was inconceivable for someone not to agree with the righteousness of Saddam's execution. Again, I really didn't want to get too deep with him but I told him that our hanging Saddam may backfire on us in the long run, that his death could turn into a martyr's story and over time create a folk hero out of a monster. Now, to me, this doesn't seem like too radical of a leap of logic.

Over the years, since Saddam was cast out of power, it's not uncommon to hear an American say, "Even though Saddam was a bastard, that's what those people need to keep them in order." Of course this statement is not only ridiculous but extremely offensive to boot but you won't have to look real hard to find a person who believes this. I can only imagine what must be going on in the hearts and minds of some of the people living every day under American occupation but I'd be willing to bet a dollar to a nickel that in about a year or two, the real story of Saddam will fade away and be replaced with a distorted nostalgia; even in the minds of those who truly despised the man. There's something odd about the way people rationalize things through time... an abusive spouse or brutal father is still mourned and missed and though the bittersweet memories still sting, much is forgotten and forgiven in time.

I tried to impress upon him that it matters very little what he or I think about the execution and that it's those who see us as their current enemy that we must focus on. I told him that the taunting of Saddam revealed in the camera-phone video that's circulating around the world is muddying up the beautiful image of justice we tried to portray... that the cold-hearted viciousness of the executioners wasn't really playing very well and that hanging him on the Islamic Holy Day of Forgiveness probably wasn't the brightest move we could have made. As I tried to explain this to him and make him understand that the execution was more onion-like than the dime-store novel he thought it was, I could see him turning off his mind and shutting out anything other than what he wanted to hear. He wanted to hear that killing that man was a good thing and that the cause of good was served but it wasn't and I couldn't just spout out the lies I knew he wanted to hear. So in the end, he shut me off and continued believing that justice was served.


Even though I knew better, I really wanted him to see things as they were, not as he wants them to be... I wanted him to recognize that not everyone is going to see right and wrong in the same way as him and that by not recognizing this fact leads to situations like the one we're in right now in Iraq. Seeing both sides of the "fair and balanced" world in which we live is very difficult. I guess I'm lucky (in an odd sort of way) to have experienced life on the other side of the looking glass so I can hear and see their side a little. I can play the song backward and understand the unintended consequences of our actions but I don't know how to reach through to that other dimension where the Republican mind lives and show them that the world is not cast in the image of their experience but in fact suffers by their unwillingness to open their eyes to the truth and languishes under their lack of empathy for those who don't worship the same things they hold sacred; be it a God or money. Maybe it truly is an act of futility to even try... my mother used to say, "A leopard can't change it's spots" and that may be true but with so much change coming in the near future, we must be able to reason with the unreasonable and find a way to soften the harsh reality that is going to be staring them in the face. A part of me says, "Fuck em... they deserve to be miserable. For six long years they labored to make me and millions of others miserable, why should I care about them." But if I do that and don't try to help them see the truth, if I just rejoice over their misery when the truth kicks us in the teeth... as I know it will... what would be the difference between them and me?

In the end, we're going to pull our kids out of that mess in Iraq, whether they like it or not. We are going to address Global Warming and force them to accept what we think is best to fix the problem. We are going to fix our economy and address issues like poverty and inequality and a myriad of other issues they despise. We are going to do all these things or the reality of life will be very, very painful for us all but I can't help but wish that there was someway to make them see what is so plain. I wish I could find a way to reach them even if it's just to make one understand that killing a man may have bigger consequences than they first envisioned. Maybe if I could find that key, it may be possible to get them to see why killing 600,000 innocents isn't the "good thing" they see it as now.

[ashling]

1. I'm confused....

I appreciated your post and feel much the same.

However, what has the subject line of the post got to do with anything. I reread it twice and looked for a link to some story that would help it make sense.

Am I just dense?

[mikelewis]

2. If you play Stairway to Heaven backwards...

There's a part in Stairway to Heaven by Led Zeppelin where if played backwards it sounds like a satanic message. It's ridiculous to assume that Page designed the song with this intent but some people are quite convinced that the song is intended to subliminally induce Devil worshiping.

Here's the part...

If there's a bustle in your hedgerow, don't be alarmed now,
It's just a spring clean for the May queen.
Yes, there are two paths you can go by, but in the long run
There's still time to change the road you're on.


Played backwards sounds like...
Oh here's to my sweet Satan.
The one whose little path would make me sad, whose power is Satan.
He'll give those with him 666.
There was a little toolshed where he made us suffer, sad Satan.

I tried to convince an acquaintance who believed such nonsense that it was pure coincidence but that too was an exercise in futility. I entitled it before I wrote the post and meant to change it later but forgot.

On edit...
Here's a link to the song played backwards..
http://www.reversespeech.com/rev/stairrev.Mp3

[ashling]

3. Thanks

I understand now.

[MisterHowdy]

5. creepy

I never buy into the reverse-play, satanic lyrics myths
but this one was creepy.
did actually sound like he was saying those words.

good post

[americanstranger]

4. Good post.

Your headline made me laugh to myself. Sad Satan... :)

- as