Well, we have learned something. In the Arab world the worst show of disrespect is taking off your Florsheims and throwing them at your enemy. That is a shocker. Here all along, I thought the worst show of disrespect in their culture was turning yourself or your vehicle into a bomb and detonating it in the midst of your enemies. And that was followed by sadistically killing men, women, and children who show the slightest resistance to your monstrous methods of ruthless domination. Does this mean that if we would have just left the Middle East alone they would have eventually progressed from those things to shoe throwing?
I hope President Bush is a little savvier to the system now. If he had do-overs I think he should have taken off his shoes and returned the fire. What do you think the world would have thought if then everyone in the room started heaving shoes? We would have a new standard of conflict resolution. But, you know the way it goes; pretty soon people would start wearing bigger shoes. Then they would wear boots.
However, quite seriously, there is something transpiring regarding our leader that in my opinion is ominous. What attacked us on 9-11 was pure evil. What we have been fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan is pure evil. What Israel is resisting is pure evil. Yet with every passing moment the intellectuals of the world work on finding ways that we can live with, tolerate, and even adopt pure evil, rather than eradicate it, much less slow it down.
Out of 9-11 there came a President who accepted the challenge of eradicating this evil. The instant global respect that President Bush received from everyone who knew he was right was tangible in the air. It instantly transformed our nation and strengthened the backbones of our allies. But, from that moment on, the intellectuals of our country took every opportunity they could to chip away at President Bush's respect. They literally allied themselves with this evil’s propaganda producers to form a net that captured and maintained every corrosive thought and action that lowered the stature of Bush and the cause of fighting this evil.
Of course, the initial salvo that ushered in this campaign was the Abu Ghraib controversy. The initial incident was discovered, harshly dealt with, and ended by the military. It was over. No Iraqi prisoners were hurt, injured or killed. They were humiliated. The half dozen juvenile Americans who produced their armature photos were put into custody and harshly dealt with. It was at that point that the New York Times came into possession of a DVD that opened it up to the world. They knew that exposing it to the world would provide the perfect vehicle for the enemy to turn the tables and portray America as evil. They knew the enemy would use it to maximum effect and they had to know that more American soldiers would die because of it. They made their decision and they put it on their front page - for 41 consecutive days. Even the smallest amount of very basic, elementary, simple cordial respect for our President, our country, or even the cause should have prevented the New York Times from doing what they did. They didn't have any. The rest of the war revolved around the issue of which power, America, or Al Qaida deserved the Iraqi citizens' respect. We are finally winning that battle.
The amazing thing through all of this is the obvious depth of character of the man. As a result of these efforts, George Bush has lost the respect of many Americans and world citizens. But through it all, he never became disrespectful. He honored leaders, allies, opponents, those who served him, and all Americans. He found himself in unfair humiliating situations and never pursued revenge. He pursued justice where he could and did not seek retribution when pursuing justice was not possible.
Of all the tough things that Obama has before him, there is one that is to me of the gravest concern. It is not just Obama's problem; it is his supporters' problem. Their culture is that of being shoe throwers. They have so profoundly drank from the well of disrespect that they know no other way. You see it in families. Children who disrespect their parents grow up and become perplexed when their children disrespect them. Fatherless men and women, people who have no respect for their fathers, get none themselves. In that situation they know of only one way to get it. They demand it. To President Bush, respect is an internal thing, an important part of his compass. But to Obama, I fear it is external. It is image. Therefore it is armor that can and will be pierced.
People have posed the question, what would have happened if that man would have thrown his shoes at Saddam Hussein? I have a more interesting one. How would Obama have reacted if it would have been him? I don't think there are many men or women that could stand the tests that the past eight years have thrown at President Bush. I don't think that our fellow countrymen understand the seeds they have planted with regards to that issue. My fear is that Obama will most certainly have to live with the fruit of this ugly vine. And therefore we will also have to live with it.
