From a 30 year old work of fiction: good or bad advice for Obama?

[DFW]

I first read this (now somewhat dated) novel in 1980. I found it interesting due to the unusual
(for a late 20th century novel) amount of philosophizing by some of the characters, and because
it was about people of places that, for one reason or another, touch me directly (Japan, Russia,
France, the USA, Great Britain, Spain, and Euzkadi, the Basque country).

In one passage, a terminally ill instructor in a Japanese board game gives a final lecture to the
main protagonist (age 20 at this point) as Japan is about to be defeated in World War II. I reread
that passage this morning, and thought of Obama and his teabagging opponents. Frankly, my first reaction
was, "someone should read this to Obama." My second reaction was, "no, maybe not, so as not to give him
the idea that he should consider himself so very distanced from the very people he was elected to govern."

The novel is called "Shibumi," and was a bestseller when it came out. It received a lot of critical
acclaim, but was also criticized as elitist and "taking the ethnic slur to a high art."

This is from the dying 60 year old Japanese Gō master to his 20 year old Western student:

"No, it is not your lack of experience that is your greatest flaw. It is your disdain. Your defeats
will not come from those more brilliant than you. They will come from the patient, the plodding,
the mediocre."

"Your scorn for mediocrity blinds you to its vast power. You stand in the glare of your own brilliance,
unable to see into the dim corners of the room, to dilate your eyes and see the potential dangers of
the mass, the wad of humanity. Even as I tell you this, dear student, you cannot quite believe that
lesser men, in whatever numbers, can really defeat you. But we are in the age of the mediocre man. He
is dull, colorless, boring--but inevitably victorious. The amoeba outlives the tiger because it divides
and continues in its immortal monotony."

When reading that, I thought of the contrast between Obama and Senators like Mitch McConnell and Ben
Nelson, dull, plodding, and tossing obstacles in Obama's path every step of the way, derailing what
should have been a Shinkansen of progress now in its thirteenth month.

Should Obama (and his inner circle, hopefully soon Rahm-less) take more heed of the dangers presented
by the McConnells of the world? On one hand, it would be demeaning and time-consuming to descend to their
level. On the other hand, ignoring them will not make them or their obstruction go away.

Just some musings on my first Sunday morning off from work in many moons...........

[babylonsister]

1. Scorn for mediocrity?

Seems to me the regular joes in this country are being scorned by the likes of McConnell and Nelson, not Obama.

And I don't think this admin is ignoring them-they certainly haven't been ignoring them enough. Dangerous? Yes, potentially. Just look at the hateful teabaggers this weekend; I'm sure this admin is aware of the venom out there. No one can think that's healthy.

[DFW]

2. I HOPE no one thinks it's healthy, anyway.

I think you're right that the administration is aware of the venom out there. I'm not sure they are aware how lethal it is.

[skeptical cynic]

3. From another "novel" about 400 years old

"...for who would bare the whips and scorns of time, the oppressor's wrong, the proud man's contumely, the pangs of disprized love, the law's delay, the insolence of office, and the spurns that patient merit of the unworthy takes..." (Hamlet)

(I may have gotten that a little wrong. It's early in the morning here.)

What I see is a government composed on nothing but the mediocre who have been successful in their quest for power, and who use that power clumsily. The Sunday morning talking head parade is about to begin, and it will be a steady stream of "the oppressor's wrong," and "the proud man's contumely," and "the law's delay," and "the insolence of office," and "the patient merit of the unworthy."

I haven't read "Shibumi," but I will.

From the bits you discussed, maybe the lesson about mediocrity isn't for Obama, but for all of our government and those who manipulate it from corner offices high in towers. Be careful of the masses. Don't push them too far. Ultimately, the system you rely on for power can be destroyed by them. Don't awaken a sleeping tiger.

[DFW]

5. Shibumi is a very interesting read

You have to keep in mind that it was completed in 1979, so the technical aspects and the historical
references are dated (computer technology, the "upcoming" Camp David talks). But the philosophy is
as timeless as Hamlet, even if I doubt that Shibumi will be remembered in 400 years.

I mentioned this passage because for all Obama's obvious intellectual prowess, he seems to encounter
great difficulty in making headway against intellects that are obviously far lesser than his own, but
far more implacable for all their mental and spiritual lethargy.

[skeptical cynic]

6. I see the same in Obama

I guess a lot of the disappointment I feel about him is based on my expectations, and those expectations were certainly related to his intellectual abilities.

Shakespeare contains a lot of historical references, and a lot of it was probably political satire at the time, but human nature really doesn't change much. "Shibumi" sounds like a good read.

Thanks for your post. I love an excuse to get another book.

[DFW]

8. I hope you don't end up cursing me for making you waste your money! LOL

But I found Shibumi an interesting read, especially in the context of the time it came out.
Of course, I had the advantage of being able to relate to a lot of the people and locales
mentioned, so that may have played a big part for me, and you may find a lot of it less easy
to relate to. Nonetheless, it did sell over 2 million copies, so I can't have been the only
one who found it entertaining, though having Japanese family did help.

[skeptical cynic]

10. I was alive and politically aware at that time, so...

It'll probably be a walk down memory lane. I've been doing that a lot lately, remembering when a Democrat was easier to distinguish from a Republican.

I lurked on DU for months before deciding to finally post, because a lot of the internal debate I was seeing among "democratic voters" within DU seemed hardly different from a debate between Democrats and Republicans. But I decided that what I was seeing in DU was probably just a microcosm of the party as a whole--heavily shifted to the Right over the past three or four decades.

I'm not historian enough to understand what's happened to the party. I left it years ago, although I remained a democratic voter, which resulted in third party support when they seemed like a better democrat than the Democrat.

A few months ago, a DUer recommended another book, which I also bought and read, then read again. It was "The New American Militarism," and I was struck by the credentials and character of the author, Andrew J. Bacevich. It did a good job of describing the overall shift toward a kneejerk military solution and a foreign policy dominated by the overshadowing threat of military force. How often do we hear, "All options are on the table."

I've given up on the parties. I think more and more people of principle are doing so, and, the more we're asked to set our principles aside (which I consider equivalent of abandoning morality) to be pragmatic, the more the trend will continue. Progressives may be the minority in the party, and certainly the minority in the nation, but insurgencies around the world prove continuously that you don't have to be a majority to undermine a corrupt system. In a nation where elections are decided by a few percentage points, and where we're told that a percentage point increase in consumer confidence (i.e. spending) is reason for hope about the economy, 20% of the population, if organized, has a lot of power.

I've already ordered "Shibumi." Thanks!

[DFW]

12. Trevanian (the author) was nothing if not well-read

He certainly researched his work well, and had an incredible knack for story-telling, tackled completely different themes,
too. Remember the Eiger Sanction? That was his as well.

Shibumi celebrates the individual over the corporate mass, but only the exceptional individual. A very fun read, nonetheless.

Ironically, one of the "comedians" I found least funny in the last two decades starred in a movie that had, as its basic theme,
that premise that once anyone came to Congress, the process of corrupting them--even if they were already corrupt!--started
immediately, and never stopped. It was called "The Distinguished Gentleman," and probably contained far more truth to it than
its scriptwriters ever imagined (or maybe not--I don't know who wrote it). Robert Redford's "The Candidate" was also a very
good film about how a decent man could get sucked into the very indecent world of American politics.

[MrModerate]

4. "Mediocrity" misses the point when applied to the mass of the people.

It's not a meaningful distinction. The "wad" (yes, I remember 'Shibumi' and it was pretty offensive, IIRC) is not busily throwing obstacles in Obama's path. It's just trying to get by.

Washington mediocrities are a different story. But either way, 'Shibumi' doesn't have a lot to tell us.

[DFW]

7. If applied to the "wad" in Congress, I think Shibumi describes the situation accurately

The teabaggers, after all, are not the true opposition. They are merely foot soldiers, a manifestation of what
those who dictate their thoughts represent. And, they do not cast votes on the Senate or House floor. I was
referring more to the likes of Mitch McConnell, John Bonehead, Michelle Bachmann, Tom Coburn, etc etc.--the
ones who actually make up the Congressional opposition.

I actually didn't find Shibumi offensive--a bit arrogant, maybe: "the Dutch make cheese" is rather a denigrating
assessment (the author was British). But many of the locales in the book were familiar to me, and the attitudes
of some of the people portrayed were, in my opinion, accurately portrayed, in particular the villagers of
southwestern France, the American and Soviet military, and the large corporation, even if they were exaggerated
for effect.

[MrModerate]

9. No disagreement that Obama -- who might be a giant . . .

Is surrounded by mental and moral midgets of all stripes. And they have decided that governing is no longer part of the job description. Stopping Obama is their only mission.

Sad.

[LeftishBrit]

11. Right-wing politicians generally are 'mental and moral midgets'..

There is a 17th-century poem, sometimes attributed to John Dryden, about Charles II's Ministers, which includes the lines:

'Protect us, mighty providence;
What would these madmen have?
First, they would bribe us without pence,
Deceive us without common sense,
And without power enslave.

Shall freeborn men in humble awe
Submit to servile shame,
Who from consent and custom draw
The same right to be ruled by law,
Which kings pretend to reign?'

The Tories under Thatcher, and to some extent now, made me think of this poem; and the RW Republicans seem to fit the description even more! And at least Charles II's government made no claims to be democratic.

[DFW]

13. A few perfect lines there to describe our teabaggers and their mentors

"Deceive us without common sense" With maddening efficiency, yes, they do.

"Shall freeborn men in humble awe Submit to servile shame..?" Incredibly, and in the face of all logic,
yes, they shall, and yes they do. The power of modern advertising, if you will, but the whole teabagger
movement plus the Republican Party that feeds off of it and nurtures it is proof that "freeborn men" can
and will suppress their freedom, both of thought and choice, and will "submit to servile shame" even though
it is clearly demeaning to them and detrimental to their interests. Modern-day two-legged lemmings, if you will.

[Ikonoklast]

14. One must remember that for the most part

the bureaucracies of most organizations, both public and private, on this planet are run by 'C' students.

And no matter who is on power, the bureaucracies soldier on relentlessly unaffected by those that actually make the decisions that govern their actions.