"They do not seem to get the fact that there are people, terrorists in this world, really dangerous people that want to come here and kill us," Rudy Giuliani said on "The Sean Hannity Show". "They want to take us back to not being as alert which to me will just extend this war much, much longer." In this particular instance (and most of the time Rudy Guliani is speaking) "They" are Democrats. I should confess now to having a great deal of admiration for his honor the Mayor during one of the country's darkest hours. To a certain extent, it makes sense that he would feel a sense of doom at all times after the cataclysmic events of September 11, 2001. I tend to invoke the lyrics of Roger Waters at moments such as these: "We play the game/With the bravery of being out of range."
All the fear and woe that I felt on that sunny morning five and a half years ago cannot compare to what was felt at Ground Zero. That distance is what allows me to watch films like "United 93" and "World Trade Center" and wallow around in the terrorism and heroism. It is my contention that this current war was actually fought in about four hours on that early September morning, and all the rest of this shock and awe has been a complete waste of life, limb and tax dollars. In a war against an idea - terror - it seems that the best defense would be to come up with a better idea. Our current defense is to raise the level of fear, which doesn't seem to be much good against suicide bombers.
The other movie I watched recently was "Flags of Our Fathers". It tells the story of the six men who raised the flag on Iwo Jima. When the battle was over, the six survivors were whisked back to the United States to fill a void in the midst of a desperate need for heroes. They helped raise more than a flag, they also helped sell millions of dollars in war bonds that helped fund the winning of World War Two - "With the bravery of being out of range". I have no qualms calling Rudy Guliani a hero, I just wonder if the war will ever really be over for him.
Unfortunately, on that day, Rudy was a leader (as he should have been) and is now a victim. On that day, the word "hero" became a widely blurred montage that now encompasses too many issues/moments and its luster has diminished with over use.
ReplyDeleteHaving heard Rudy speak live, it's a shame to see him play the political stage and become a politician again.
Heroes generally are victims of rare circumstance. Politicians pitch the rhetoric and the leaders find a way into the light. Politicians need to stop victimizing the troops and a leader needs to come forward and get them out of the dark.