Hubris and Humility
Hubris is one of those wonderful words. It’s an ancient Greek word meaning “extreme pride or arrogance.” It often indicates a loss of reality and an overestimation of one’s own competence and capabilities, especially when the person exhibiting it is in a position of power.
On this President’s Day, I watched the hour-long documentary Hubris on MSNBC. If you didn’t catch it, you really need to. I’m sure they will run it several more times at various times of the day. 
It is based on a book about the run-up to the second Iraq War. This is probably the impetus that pushed me from Red to Blue. There were other reasons, too, but the fact that our leaders lied to us to trick us into a war that cost the lives of 4,000+ American heroes, wounded 34,000, and killed more than 100,000 Iraqi civilians just gets more and more devastating as the years go by. I wish it could be seen by every American if only to help us vow to never let it happen again.
I can’t find any clips to embed from the doc, but this is equally brutal.
As I watched this documentary, I couldn’t help but wonder if this event essentially caused brain damage within the Republican party. That it created a condition in which they feel they can create any reality they want if they feel the ends justify the means. That’s hubris. It’s where you know better than everybody else, and have the power to enforce it. And it just may ruin the Republican party for a generation, at least.
It takes a long time to make up for mistakes like this. For instance, just last week, the state of Mississippi voted to ratify the 13th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. You know, the amendment outlawing slavery. Seems their collective conscience were a little raw after watching the movie Lincoln, and they felt it was high time to right that wrong — 148 years later.
How long will it take the Republican party to overcome the deaths of 4,000 U.S. soldiers? 34,000 wounded? 100,000+ Iraqi civilian deaths? That’s a lot of blood on your hands. All for lies.
We can’t forget. As Democrats, our hands are not clean either, thanks to a drone program and a kill list that remains secret and without oversight or accountability. “Take our word for it,” we are told. “They are bad people.” I’ve heard that tune before.
Sometimes the best Presidents are the fictional ones:
Or, better yet….
Posted on February 19, 2013, in Art, Faith, Politics and tagged Air Force One, Bush, Cheney, Iraq, lies, Mississippi, West Wing. Bookmark the permalink. 5 Comments.
President Palmer from 24 remains my favorite (although I did not watch any of the above).
I am very much a pacifist. When the US/Bush first declared war a month after 9/11, I was against it, but people tried to convince me that you cannot lie down and take it. Where do you stand on that, the whole trying to really, actually find Bin Laden? Is it okay to take people out in the hopes that is achieved (don’t worry, I know Bin Laden is dead)? And what about places where genocide or other atrocities (including countries that may be making nuclear weapons) are going on? Should the US get involved there if it does not directly affect us? I say no, but people have provided some compelling arguments. I realize this has nothing to do with the weapons of mass destruction (or lack thereof), but I just wanted your take on war in general. Thanks!
Look at Facie! Bringing the tough questions! I love it.
One of the tragedies of the Iraq war was that it sucked a lot the resources away from Afghanistan, where we were actively chasing Bin Laden and his buddies.
I’m more of a pacifist these days, too. But it’s hard to argue that there should never be war. Not many will argue that we should have just let Hitler kill all the Jews while gobbling up most of Europe. But what do you do when a country is killing people within their own sovereign borders? Sometimes we go in (Bosnia, Syria, Iraq, Libya) and sometimes we don’t (Rwanda, Cambodia, Congo, Tibet). It sort of depends on how important it is to us economically, and if there won’t be much resistance.
And as for Nukes, it is always awkward to tell other countries they can’t have them when you not only are stockpiled with them, but you are also the only nation to have ever used them on the people of another nation. Pot, meet Kettle.
In general, I’m against war because it has become industrialized and politicized. Now, with drones, you can fight without human casualties (well, on your side). It’s easy peasy. We’ve basically been in constant state of war now for 25 years. It’s hard to stop. It’s profitable. Of course, we Congress hasn’t declared war on another country since 1942, so there’s also the argument about he legality of all these conflicts.
And then there are those who insist (when it comes to abortion and gay marriage) that this is a Christian nation. Don’t get me started on all the verses on forgiving, and turn the other cheek, and put away your swords unless you want to die by them. Geesh.
See? You got me going there.
Ah, two of my favorite presidents… I can also add Michael Douglas from The American President, Bill Pullman from Independence Day and Kevin Kline from Dave. And I’ll second Facie’s “David Palmer.”
I always found the West Wing particularly cathartic, because it allowed me to pretend like I had respect for the President of the United States.
I’m wondering about how “Hubris” is sourced… like is it legit, or a kind of “fill-in-the-blanks” speculation?
Oh agreed! Dave is awesome and Palmer is the shit!
I think what saddens me the most is that most politicians go into it thinking they won’t change. That their voice will be heard. And ten, they get in, make friends, get bullies, blackmailed, whatever and then follow like lemmings. It’s sad, really. That there are few people like Gabby Giffords and even Obama who have a plan and try their damnedest to stick to it. But it can’t be easy.
That said, I can’t even imagine how they’re going to have to pay the ultimate price for being selfish.