Thought Theater

Perlstein On The Impact Of Conservative Rule genre: Just Jihad & Polispeak

Rick Perlstein has an important posting at Common Sense...one that attempts to examine the transformation of the American mind set in the aftermath of 9/11. In offering some much needed historical context, he seeks to disavow the American citizenry of the behavior that characterized the reaction to Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's U.S. visit and his invitation to speak at Columbia University.

Perlstein's piece is premised upon his attempt to answer a series of questions he believes must be answered. In my opinion, he accurately contends that the success of the United States is dependent upon exploring and understanding the answers.

Here's a big question that I want to start addressing in upcoming posts: what is conservative rule doing to our nation's soul? How is it rewiring our hearts and minds? What kind of damage are they doing to the American character? And can we ever recover?

Perlstein astutely describes the current environment as a "conservative Republic of Fear"...a philosophy which has been successfully spun by the current administration. That philosophy is one that views diversity as a detriment, dialogue as an act to legitimize the defined disease, and dissent as an endorsement of defeat.

Sadly, the Bush administration strategy was likely endorsed more as a matter of political calculation than as a function of sound policy...a theory seemingly supported by the events surrounding the failed efforts in Iraq and the willful refusal to reconsider. While nothing prevents any individual or entity from selling a subjective, though suspect product...should that campaign succeed, it has probably ingrained a false construct which will no doubt be difficult to extinguish or expunge.

Perlstein attempts to begin this daunting task by recounting a time in America's history which provides an important contrast to the current construct...one that identifies an alternate approach...an approach which not only succeeded in thwarting a formidable enemy; but one which was conducted with dignity and an undying commitment to maintaining our cherished values. That approach not only made our demise doubtful; it rendered our ill-intentioned enemies impotent.

The following excerpts are the backbone of Perlstein's argument.

Let me put before you an illustrative example: one week in September of 1959, when, much like one week in September of 2007, American soil supported a visit by what many, if not most Americans agreed was the most evil and dangerous man on the planet.

Nikita Khrushchev disembarked from his plane at Andrews Air Force Base to a 21-gun salute and a receiving line of 63 officials and bureaucrats, ending with President Eisenhower. He rode 13 miles with Ike in an open limousine to his guest quarters across from the White House. Then he met for two hours with Ike and his foreign policy team. Then came a white-tie state dinner. (The Soviets then put one on at the embassy for Ike.) He joshed with the CIA chief about pooling their intelligence data, since it probably all came from the same people—then was ushered upstairs to the East Wing for a leisurely gander at the Eisenhowers' family quarters. Visited the Agriculture Department's 12,000 acre research station ("If you didn't give a turkey a passport you couldn't tell the difference between a Communist and capitalist turkey"), spoke to the National Press Club, toured Manhattan, San Francisco (where he debated Walter Reuther on Stalin's crimes before a retinue of AFL-CIO leaders, or in K's words, "capitalist lackeys"), and Los Angeles (there he supped at the 20th Century Box commissary, visited the set of the Frank Sinatra picture Can Can but to his great disappointment the premier did not get to visit Disneyland), and sat down one more with the president, at Camp David. Mrs. K did the ladies-who-lunch circuit, with Pat Nixon as guide. It's not like it was all hearts and flowers. He bellowed that America, as Time magazine reported, "must close down its worldwide deterrent bases and disarm." Reporters asked him what he'd been doing during Stalin's blood purges, and the 1956 invasion of Hungary. A banquet of 27 industrialists tried to impress upon him the merits of capitalism. Eleanor Roosevelt toured him through Hyde Park. Nelson Rockefeller rapped with him about the Bible.

Had America suddenly succumbed to a fever of weak-kneed appeasement? Was the general running the country—the man who had faced down Hitler!—proven himself what the John Birch Society claimed he was: a conscious agent of the Communist conspiracy?

No. Nikita Khrushchev simply visited a nation that had character. That was mature, well-adjusted. A nation confident we were great. We had our neuroses, to be sure—plenty of them.

But look now what we have lost. Now when a bad guy crosses our threshhold, America becomes a pants-piddling mess.

When one compares the treatment of Khrushchev with the response to Ahmadinejad's visit, one begins to see Perlstein's point...and the reason for his concern and his criticism. In the Bush administration's rush to co-opt the fear and anger generated by 9/11, they have fueled a level of irrational fear which clearly exceeds any threat posed by the visit of a hostile leader.

In knowing that we can defeat Iran...both militarily and in terms of world opinion...we needn't react with fear...we need only resolve to honor our beliefs and defend them should they or any other enemy act to harm us or our allies. Our strength should be our resolve...fear simply serves to undermine it.