Will we learn this time?

I just watched the YouTube video of the Falling Man. http://www.ichblog.eu/index2.php?option=com_seyret&no_html=1&task=embedpopup&vcode=BXnA9FjvLSU&servertype=youtube&vidwindow=popup
I am once again reminded of the immensity of the tragedy and the critical need for strong and intelligent leadership to respond to such an attack.

In critical times in the history of the United States we had the great good fortune of having outstanding leaders. George Washington, Thomas Jefferson and many other founders were able to demonstrate such leadership and a new country, one of the very great countries, was created. When that country was torn apart by civil war once again we had a leader of such enormous stature that the country survived under Abraham Lincoln.

When the World Trade Center was hit by terrorists we had George W. Bush. An unrecoverable catastrophe has befallen the United States. While we will survive as a country it will not be the same country it was before the catastrophic lack of leadership of George W. Bush. The Bush Blunder in Iraq has forever scarred this country. George Bush headed a leadership vacuum that pervades all of the government.

The true leaders of this country are lead by an all pervasive greed. Most are not any part of the government. They are only its owners. They have paid the price and taken the covert title. And this has been done with the enthusiastic acceptance of a very flawed president. But since this is a government of the people the failure is not just in leadership. Our press, the entity charged with informing the people, has done a dismal job of doing so. And we the people, have we done our civic duty to direct our leaders? Only a few have tried. The American greed reaches far into the culture. I am haunted by the realization that we have gotten what we deserve. Among the great imperial powers of the past few have had the hubris of the American citizenry.

Just think what the United States could have accomplished while we had the whole world on our side. There are so many ways we could have shown world leadership. Instead we soiled ourselves. Where we had the sympathy and support of the world we now have the scorn and hatred of the world. Along with the Falling Man video to remind us of the attack on us I suggest we also remember Ali Ismaeel Abbas. (http://www.aliabbas.net/) He and his family welcomed the Americans when they came only to be destroyed by the senselessness of war. He now lives without any of his immediate family and without his two arms.

After the Second World War we occupied Germany. As part of that occupation we required that the school children be taught about the Nazi atrocities and the culpability of the German people. The children of that time still feel the shame of what their country did. I would like to see the same action taken here in the United States. We should teach our children about the Bush Blunder, the death and disruption of the people of Iraq, the debt it has burdened the future with, the many, many mangled bodies here and in Iraq and the enmity of the world it has engendered for the United States. We should teach our children how lies were used to mislead the people of the United States. And especially, we should teach them the immorality of such actions. Our children should wonder about us just as the Germany children wondered how their parents could have done such heinous deeds. America, it is time to realize what we have done. It is time to start taking actions that will ensure that we never repeat such immoral folly. It is time we are honest with our children.

Louis Brossard Blog

A friend sent this one to me.

Subject: Finally...a medical explanation that makes perfect sense


Here's an interesting perspective from Dr. Paul Minot, a psychiatrist in Waterville, Maine:
George Bush's "irrational" consideration of a "surge" in the wake of the Iraq Study Group report -- which apparently defies all credible counsel - has begun to generate speculation regarding his sanity. References to Bush's "delusions" have appeared in the mainstream media and throughout the blogosphere. As a psychiatrist, I understandably get concerned when I see clinical terminology bandied about in political discourse, and thought it might be of interest to share a professional perspective on this question. I have a distinct clinical impression that I think explains much of Mr. Bush's visible pathology.
First and foremost, George W. Bush has a Narcissistic Personality Disorder.
What this means, is that he has rather desperate insecurities about himself, and compensates by constructing a grandiose self-image. Most of his relationships are either mirroring relationships -- people who flatter him and reinforce his grandiosity -- or idealized self-objects -- people that he himself thinks a lot of, and hence feels flattered by his association with them. Some likely perform both functions. Hence his weakness for sycophants like Harriet Miers, and powerful personalities like Dick Cheney. Even as a narcissist, Bush knows he isn't a great intellect, and compensates by dismissing the value of intellect altogether. Hence his disses of Gore's bookishness, and any other intellectual that isn't flattering him. Bush knows that his greatest personal strength is projecting personal affability, and tries to utilize it even in the most inappropriate settings. That's why he gives impromptu backrubs to the German Chancellor in a diplomatic meeting -- he's insecure intellectually, and tries to make everyone into a "buddy" so he can feel more secure. The most disturbing aspect about narcissists, however, is their pathological inability to empathize with others, with the exception of those who either mirror them, or whom they idealize. Hence Bush's horrifying insensitivity to the Katrina victims, his callous jokes when visiting grievously injured soldiers, and numerous other instances. He simply has no capacity to feel for others in that way.
When LBJ was losing Vietnam, he developed a haunted expression that anybody could recognize as indicative of underlying anguish. For all his faults, you knew he was losing sleep over it. By the same token, we know just as well that Bush isn't losing any sleep over dead American soldiers, to say nothing of dead Iraqis. He didn't exhibit any sign of significant concern until his own political popularity was sliding -- because THAT'S something he CAN feel. Which brings us to his recent "delusion." To be blunt, I don't see any indication that Bush has any sort of psychotic disorder whatsoever. The lapses in reality-testing that he exhibits are the sort that can be readily explained by his characterological insensitivity to the feelings and perceptions of others, due to his persistently self-centered frame of reference.
Mr. Bush knows that things aren't going his way in Iraq, and he knows that it is damaging him politically. He also sees that it is likely to get worse no matter what he does, and in fact it may be a lost cause. However, he recognizes that if he follows the recommendations of the Iraq Study Group, that Iraq will almost certainly evolve into a puppet state of Iran, and given his treatment of Iran he will completely lose control of the situation -- and he will be politically discredited for this outcome. The ONLY chance that he has to avoid this political disaster, and save his political skin, is to hope against hope for "victory" inIraq. Advancing the "surge" idea offers Bush two political advantages over following the ISG recommendations. One is that if it is implemented, maybe, just maybe, he can pull out some sort of nominal "victory"
out of the situation. The chances are exceedingly slim, granted, but slim is better to him than the alternative (none). Alternately, if the "surge" is politically rejected, he gains some political cover, so when things inevitably go bad, he can say "I told you so" and blame the "surrender monkeys" for the outcome. Most people probably won't buy it, but some (his core base) will.
Now, I know what many of you are thinking -- is George Bush willing to risk the lives of hundreds, maybe thousands more American soldiers, on an outside chance to save his political skin, in a half-baked plan that even he knows probably won't work at all? Yes, he is. Because George Bush is that narcissistic, that desperate, and yes, that sociopathic as well.
Especially interesting about Mr. Bush, but quite common, Narcissistic Personality Disorder is frequently associated with alcoholism. The insufferable "holier than thou" attitude associated with "Dry Drunk Syndrome" is indicative of underlying narcissism. Also, the way that Bush embraces Christianity is characteristically narcissistic. Rather than incorporating the lessons of humility and empathy modeled by Jesus, Bush uses his Christian faith to reinforce his grandiosity. Jesus is his powerful ally, his idealized "buddy" who gives a rubber stamp to anything he thinks.
Finally -- and this will sound VERY familiar to many readers -- those persons with NPD are notoriously unable to say they're sorry. Admitting error is fundamentally incompatible with their precarious efforts to maintain their sense of order. Anyone having this particular character flaw almost certainly has NPD.
ALLAN SCHNAIBERG, Professor of Sociology & Faculty Associate, Institute for Policy Research, Northwestern University, 1812 Chicago Avenue, room 108, Evanston, IL 60208, 847-491-3202, FAX: 847-491-9907