> Why is that so strange-- on a day when planes were smashed into towers and
> thousands died, even as the military might of the US was useless in stopping
> it, a few folks on one plane took on the killers and stopped them, even
> though they knew they would not live themselves. In a leadup talking about
> self-sacrifice, that was hardly strange to evoke the slogan of those on the
> Pennsylvania plane who stopped the terrorists.
My intuitive response was to laugh out loud, for which I am unapologetic. But as Bush would say, "make no mistake," it's not out of any disrespect for the man who uttered it on the plane or those who remember him by it. (And four months on, I myself still have unsettling dreams on occassion related to various aspects of 9/11 - this over a thousand miles from Ground Zero. Blame my childhood reading habits and my fervid imagination.)
Perhaps it made me queasy to witness George Bush appropriating said words for the banner under which he and his cadre will enact their dubious agenda in the coming months. I suspect I'm not alone in noting that the pictures on the TV screen Tuesday night evoked a kind of crass, bloated parody of Imperial Rome (if such can be the case, to which I say, yes - I've just witnessed it!). Maybe it's a sense that the exalted Emperor is mouthing the words of the struggling fishmonger or the soldier in the trenches, hoping some of the essence will rub off, and it rings a bit hollow, all things considered. Maybe it didn't affect others that way. Actually I'm sure it didn't affect others that way, but what can I say.
Perhaps, as a presidential "statement of purpose" in a State of the Union address, a pithy statement like "Let's Roll!" loses force, regardless of prior context, when one understands that it's been uttered by someone whom we know to be almost completely incapable of adding anything more to it, were he asked to. Not just anyone (note I'm not an elitist and I obviously don't make a fetish of intellectualism), but the person who's been elevated to the position of the leader of the most powerful nation on earth.
Also, you mention Bush "evok(ing) the slogan of those on the Pennsylvania plane who stopped the terrorists." While it's fast becoming one, obviously it was anything _but_ a slogan to the people on the plane. It was a short phrase spoken in a tense moment by one of the passengers who certainly had not the luxury nor time to consider licensing and residuals. Owing to its peculiar resonance, it's now taken on a life of its own. I know you were just writing hastily, but it struck me like one of those articles that describe "consumers" doing this or that, where one wants to say - "wait, when did I become a consumer-?"
But I'll grant that by now we all understand the usual trajectory for such things - the inevitability of t-shirts and the like showing up at K-Mart emblazoned with the words (and already on eBay - try a search), and the phrase cropping up on car windows and bumpers over the spring and summer. Much as it begins to grate, I do understand - or I try. Which is not to say that a good tarring and feathering of certain of the more egregious practitioners is out of the question.
> It's no more bizarre than Neal Young turning it into a hit song in memorium
> to those who lost their lives that day.
That's old hat - ask Woody Guthrie or the Grimsby Folk Song Club. Or Gordon Lightfoot, if you dare.
> Most of the speech was pretty weak in my view-- even rabid Bush lovers on
> freerepublic.com gave it only a B in many cases. He did a few strong
> phrases at the beginning, then became pretty tedious in laying out what
> passes for his agenda.
Well, he's a wayward ne'er-do-well who made the big time because someone grabbed his mai tai, knocked him over the head with a bible, pushed him on a train, paid for his ticket, and told him to tuck in his shirt and enjoy the ride - so we need to adjust our expectations accordingly. Seeing him up on the podium addressing the U.S. Congress and the nation the other night made me think I was dreaming in Tristan Tzara's bed - though most people on this list would probably lose bladder control if they were propped up in his place, so you have to give him that.
> Of course, Gephart's response was one of the worst, most craven pieces of
> crap I have ever seen; I was almost ready to grab a Green Party registration
> after his pathetic "please don't beat us up Mr. President" speech. It makes
> you glad ol Teddy is still there to say the obvious-- repeal the upcoming
> tax cuts for the rich and hand it to the voting elderly.
Bush fairly shone like a bright beacon compared to Gephart. Another sad truth in all of this...
--
/ dave /