August 11, 2007

Truthiness

I was watching a documentary about Ramesses II who reigned in Egypt in the 14th century B.C.E. During the course of the show it was mentioned that, after a war with the Hittites which ended badly for Egypt, the Pharaoh built a war monument to himself.
Portraying himself as the supreme victor of the war, he was depicted as a giant surrounded by dead and dying Hittites and many slaves. According to the narrator of the show, this was more than propaganda. Ramesses’ and the typical Egyptians believed that the fact that they were written made such statements true.
*_*_*
I’m starting to get a glimpse into the mindset of President Bush:
“Weapons of mass destruction exist in Iraq.”
“Mission Accomplished!”
“We must stay the course.”
“We are winning the war in Iraq.”
“America does not torture.”
“We don’t eavesdrop on American citizens unless we have a court order allowing us to do so.”
And on.
And on.
Maybe he truly believes that the fact that he says these preposterous things and that they are duly recorded actually makes them true.

The trouble is, BUSH isn’t surrounded by people who see the world the same way he does. So making up the world as he goes along doesn’t work any more.

11 comments:

Anonymous said...

Hello two crows! I just had to come and visit you for I find your comments elsewhere consistently well thought and knowledgeable.

About the Leader Guy, who can tell what is exactly going on in that head of his? There is no question about it, that the man is suffering from multiple mental illnesses/disorders. However, being just a regular peasant, I refrain making any diagnose. My bet is, that many a book will be soon published about him and his ailments by those who are on the know. How interesting will it be when this court jester is finally not in charge anymore and we can get at least some explanations for his erratic and incomprehensible behavior.

Scary thing is, that there are possibly nearly quarter of your population that suffer from more or less the same malfunction of their minds. Did you hear, that the Decider's rates have started to inch up again?

two crows said...

hi, Pekka and welcome to pp&d!
and thanks for the kind words.

as to Bush-- yeah, who knows what goes on in that teensy-weensy little mind?
back on 10/30/06 I posted about my take on Bush's personality/soul age.
and, fwiw--I've read that Hitler was about the same soul age as, by my guesstimate, Bush is.
that explains a lot.

and Bush's numbers are going UP??? what the hell is our problem??? where did you see that? I want to read it.
let me find a hard wall to bang my head against.

Mary Ellen said...

two crows
Great post!
The way I see it, one of the problems we are having is that Bush has been in office so long that his talons are dug deep into the soul of this country. It's like when a kidnapper keeps his victim for a long time, they begin to trust him and like him, even though he has them trapped and is torturing them with all kinds of perversions. If he shows even the slightest bit of kindness, maybe a kind word, they actually think he's an ok guy and like him a little.

That's Bush and America. Those who voted for him and watched him hold us captive with his policies and wars, forgive him when his polls start to drop. It's not a large group, just that 30% who just can't admit the guy is a menace to society...and to the world.

two crows said...

g'morning m e--
gosh, I hope you're right.
I simply can't fathom why his numbers aren't in the negative digits.
of course, I can't fathom why he got into office the first time. even the supremes and his bro couldn't have pulled it off if the numbers hadn't been close to start with.

and, why oh why can't we do away with that stupid, antiquated electoral college?

LET'S TALK said...

I hope this guy goes out of office with no more incidents and WE understand that it will take the next President along with the House and Senate, a lot of time and effort to get this country back into some kind of shape.
Was not it better before he came into office? It's been so long I cannot remember any good or fair times we have had in this country now.
Our Banks are being stuff with billions to underscore the economy, mortgage companies are going under or trying to find loans for the sub primes they are left holding, while foreclosures are spreading. It's very hard to get a loan for a home right now.
I understand that this guy, with all the problems and need for money, he is talking about cutting the taxes on corporations.
Placed along with what has been discussed in this post about the money for this war, we are in a world of trouble.

two crows said...

hey, LT--
'I hope . . . WE understand that it will take the next President along with the House and Senate, a lot of time and effort to get this country back into some kind of shape.'

I hope your hopes materialize.
but, I don't hold A LOT of hope -- given the fact that we were ready to tear Congress' throat out 4 months into their tenure when they hadn't fixed everything Cheney/Bush had spent 6 years putting into place.

as to the economy -- we're in the tall grass.
I heard this AM that the DOW fell 400 points yesterday. I was off-line much of the day and didn't listen to the radio, either. needed to just take some time to breathe.
so, did something out of the ordinary chain of disasters happen to spark that?

and, as to housing -- gee, I wish I'd waited when I got to florida last feb. but, NOOOOO! I bought the first house I fell in love with a few days after I got here. . . . **sigh**
meanwhile, my retirement funds are shrinking. :(

'Was not it better before he came into office? It's been so long I cannot remember any good or fair times. . .'

try the post from 2/5/07 -- it'll tickle your funny bone while, simulatneously, you'll cry in your beer. still, it might spark a long-term memory.

TomCat said...

Excellent analogy, TC, but if he isn't surrounded by people who see the world as he does, what about Cheney, Gonzo, Rove, Rice, etc? In addition, he probably considers the Bill O show his daily briefing.

two crows said...

hey, TC--
of course, he picked his ADVISORS from those who do share his belief that recording something makes it true.
when I said he wasn't surrounded by people who agree with that belief, I meant US.

when Ramesses did what he did, most people believed the same thing. not these days.

Anonymous said...

TC, I am just a relatively new and confused junkie of American politics and thus I don't bother making sure of knowing where all kinds of bits and pieces of information come from. I only remember, that this about Bush's more favorable ratings came via some talking heads, possibly in BBC TV. It was not the item itself but just the short reference. "The decline in American casualties is reflected in the better ratings for the president" or something like that. Woke me up from my usual slumber, though.

two crows said...

ohmigod, pekka--
thanks for following up but ohmigod!
the number of deaths dipped a bit and his numbers went UP????

people don't get it that HE'S the one primarily responsible for slaughtering our children and his numbers went UP?

I've got to get out of this country before I go insane.

TomCat said...

I knew what you meant TC. I was pointing out the irony. Perhaps the reason his numbers went up is that Fox viewers actually believe that the normal summertime lull means the Chickenhawh Charge is working.