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January 02, 2007
Hagiographs and Repressed Guilt
I presume that most decent men and women have already had it with the Ford hagiographies that just don't seem to stop. The men pardoned his buddy who gave him the presidency, proceeded to close the Vietnam chapter as far as we were concerned as if a great wrong had not been done to a people, and let war loose on East Timor. So he's as bad as most and not as bad as some of them. Why this non-stop flow of tears of adoration and tales of decency? At least that was the thought in my head as I rolled my eyes and clicked my mouse on the latest by Time, "Gerald Ford refused to take his private faith public" (I head he was good to puppies too, although surely not as good as Nixon was to Checkers.)
Then I got it, I think. The press corps is playing out its guilt. Most of the articles I read are barbs at the Bush administration, disguised as admiration of Ford. At this point in history an article, of all things, about not flaunting one's born again status can only be a barb against the W administration. Who would ever think about dragging that out from that era unless you were specifically looking for things one could use as comparisons?
I think the press corps is fuming at the W gang for exposing them as spineless lackeys who went along with power until it didn't matter. I think there is strong, real hatred mixed in with strong, real self-hatred and guilt... Will this mean that they will behave better the next time around? Don't hold your breath. Repressed, unresolved, unconfronted guilt is rarely the path towards decency or integrity.
(P.S. I believe I deserve credit for the repeated use of the word decent. I think it was very decent of me in this decent week of decent Ford's and not so decent Saddam's death.)
Posted by zeynep at January 2, 2007 04:01 PM
Comments
It isn't guilt. The press always does this--there's rancor in politics today and disgust with Bush, so they offer a comforting bedtime story about how things usually are in America (as they tell the story anyway). So we get the tale of Ford the Decent, the Nonpartisan, the Healer, and not a hint of any innocent people he might have helped to kill.
The thing is, I suspect Ford was a decent guy in everyday life. But there's something about power that leads otherwise decent people to do monstrous things. Carter is a good example--I admire the guy for what he's done out of office (most recently for his Israel book), but he and Ford share responsibility for what happened to East Timor in the 70's.
Posted by: Donald Johnson at January 7, 2007 12:53 AM
Re: Carter's Decency: He thought Samoza was a decent man, and compared him to a Sunday School Teacher. That's the problem with the multiply birthed, once you're 'anointed' in the club, you're golden no mater what.
He also was buddies with the Shah of Iran and thought he was a nice guy (and was instrumental in helping the Shah escape justice. His fundamentalist anti-communism also led his administration to collaborate with Khomeini, giving the Psalmists lists of leftists to be killed). Just goes to show the kind of company decent people keep.
Posted by: wizardbill at January 9, 2007 11:03 AM