MARY LYON FROM THE LEFT: The Souffle of the Union

[Tace]

By Mary Lyon -- World News Trust

So I watched another George Bush State of the Union speech, and my reaction is single-worded: “huh?” Maybe, make that single-grunted. That cliché comes to mind about the big dinner at your favorite Chinese restaurant – doesn’t matter how much you ate, you’re hungry again in an hour. Perhaps one could also compare it to a soufflé. The volume is there, alright. But it’s full of hot air. Nothing but empty calories. We’re being led, and orated at, by a soufflé. More like two soufflés, actually. One soufflé for the red-meat conservative carnivores who regard Democrats, liberals and progressives in much the same way the Palestinians and Iran’s new president see Israel. The other is the return of Rodney King – “can’t we all just get along” – smooch-smooch, group hug! Huh?

Do you suppose he’s actually aware of the extreme divisiveness he’s sewn from coast to coast? Maybe what we saw was his attempt at some sort of cock-eyed “unity” or something. Play to both ends. Hope you live happily ever after somewhere in between, where the folks on either end are so busy trying to figure you out that they can’t even tell where you are now. Start out with attempted elegance in magnanimously praising the late Coretta Scott King, and then gloss over the short shrift you’ve paid to so many of those who looked up to her, especially the still-neglected, ill-served, and lied-to hurricane victims in New Orleans. Bring back that moldy oldie – compassion – and talk about how we must work together and how you’ll do your part, yessirree. Then raise your voice and point your finger and try to look rough-n-tough when scolding the Democrats on Social Security. Huh?

First it’s one thing and then it’s another, and they don’t ever seem to match. On the one hand, we got more of that same old tired “democracy good-dictatorship bad” stuff. But every time Bush talked about what a great idea it was to send our kids to die in foreign deserts for people who don’t even want them there, who could avoid thinking about the “democracy” we’ve inspired in that region? The folks over there go and vote alright, and who they vote for are people who hate us and threaten to stir up more trouble for us. Hey, that worked out great, didn’t it? We’re spreading democracy all over the Middle East, aren’t we? That old “freedom is on the march” stuff is really in play now, ‘eh? He even rolled out that cliché again. We’ve got Hamas on one side, and that fun, congenial guy in Iran now. All elected by far bigger mandates and unmistakable landslides than the GOP could ever hope to invent for Young George. And that democracy in Iraq – man, look at ‘em out there voting and getting their fingers all ink-stained. And that constitution of theirs, too! Wow! Never mind that you still can’t step outside to go get a simple cup of a coffee without risking being blown to bits, or that safe drinking water and reliable daily electrical service are still figments of some republi-CON’s imagination. Take that, Cindy Sheehan! THERE’S yer “noble cause,” ‘eh? Wasn’t that worth sending your son and more than 22-hundred other Americans to die for? Freedom! Ain’t it great? That George Bush sure gets results, doesn’t he? But don’t you dare wear any T-shirts he and his buddies don’t like. They’ll have you arrested! Huh?

Frankly, every time he denounces dictatorship, and repeats his favorite “F-word,” “freedom,” I find myself crushed under the weight of a giant grain of salt. Oh yeah. Freedom. That vaporous ideal for which we’ll gladly sacrifice the lives of our troops overseas, while we grind it into the dirt like a discarded cigarette butt here at home. Freedom, freedom, freedom. How many times did he say it? I lost count. But saying it repeatedly doesn’t make it so, George. Yeah, freedom. That holy grail you’ll be pushing farther and farther from our reach with your new Supreme Court Associate Justice – who seems to prefer the divine right of kings than the privacy of individuals – especially female individuals of childbearing age. Freedom. Yeah…fine. We saw how much you respect freedom with the zeal you displayed while insisting you can listen in on anybody’s conversations anywhere. I’m sorry, but throwing in that anecdote about two of the 9/11 hijackers making phone calls to offshore al Qaeda cohorts doesn’t convince me. How do I know you’re not making that up just to win your point? Besides, staring straight into the camera and insisting that “we are winning” in Iraq just doesn’t cut it. Nor does that make it so.

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