Recently, the op-ed pieces of American newspapers are beginning to look like a church confessional after a particularly wild Mardi-Gras celebration. Repentant journalists of the neo-con chicken-hawk punditocracy class are making their confessions to Father John Q. Citizen.
"Father, forgive me for I have sinned in supporting the Iraq war."
First we had Mr. Wm. Buckley on 24 February, in an Article entitled "It Didn't work", take time out from his sailing to offer his mea culpa before God, and Man, Yale, and the World.
"Our mission has failed because Iraqi animosities have proved uncontainable by an invading army of 130,000 Americans. The great human reserves that call for civil life haven't proved strong enough."
Following Bill, there was Francis Fukuyama who went further then writing a column confessing his sins. Francis, intellectual that he is, wrote a book making his confession before Father John Q. Citizen.
"Father, forgive me for I have sinned in writing the neo-conservative foreign policy bible."
(I confess) that the doctrine (neo-conservativism) "is now in shambles" and that its failure has demonstrated "the danger of good intentions carried to extremes. The most basic misjudgment was an overestimation of the threat facing the United States from radical Islamism," he (confessed). Going further, Fukuyama confessed that the movements' (i.e.--neo-conservatives) advocates are Leninists who "believed that history can be pushed along with the right application of power and will. Leninism was a tragedy in its Bolshevik version, and it has returned as farce when practised by the United States".
Andrew Sullivan has also stepped up to the confessional booth.
"Father, forgive me for I have sinned for supporting the Iraq war."
"In retrospect, neoconservatives (and I fully include myself) made three huge errors. The first was to overestimate the competence of (The US) government. The second error was narcissism. The final error was not taking culture seriously enough."
Natan Sharansky, finding a Rabbi to occupy the confessional booth has come forward.
"Father, forgive me but if they had listened to me we wouldn't be in this position."
"But, despite what I believe to be the president's genuine commitment to promote sweeping change, the policy shift hasn't matched the rhetoric, with one glaring exception: an intense focus on holding elections everywhere as quickly as possible. This has been a mistake because, although elections are part of the democratic process, they are never a substitute for it."
Now, before I grant my part in the vox populi, vox dei absolution, allow me to offer a few words of corrective intended for use the next time the pundit class wants to whip up war fever.
Mr. Buckley, Paleo-conservatives said from the outset that Islam wasn't a religion that had human reserves nor does it ever create civil life. It is a brutish religion that creates a brutish culture where the top dog has always been the one with the most blood on his sword. It was the height of naiveté for you to believe that in a top down fashion we could force Western concepts of civil life on the sons of Mohammed. The great human reserves that create civil life cannot be expected from a culture that has not been shaped and formed over centuries by Western-Christian categories.
Mr. Fukuyama, the old right said from the outset that the neo-cons were re-treaded Leninists. The old right said from the beginning that what was going on was Wilsonian Messianism (your, 'good intentions carried to extremes') that would fail with its secularist utopian dreams. If you had listened to the old right there would be 1700 Americans still alive today as well as numerous non-combatant Iraqis.
Mr. Sullivan, your confession requires suppression of laughter before forgiveness can be extended. You honestly believed that the US Government was competent? After, the pursuit of manifest destiny, and the 'War to end all wars,' you thought we had conquered narcissism? After, people had pointed out, ad nauseum, that Islam had always been a culture of death you didn't take culture seriously?
Mr. Sharanksy, you seem to still be in denial. You seem to think that if we had forced on Islamic culture our vision of Democracy then they would have voted for the kind of Democracy that we wanted them to have. Your prescription sounds a great deal like, "Be Free, or I'll kill you." That sure sounds like Democracy. Natan, you cannot fix in three years what has taken millennium to establish, and it is doubtful you can ever fix it by force.
Christians believe in extending forgiveness to those who come looking for it and so we have no choice but to offer our corporate priestly, "You are forgiven child. Go and sin no more."
Keep in mind guys, that this doesn't change the mess in which you and your ilk have put us. Maybe, instead of 'Hail Marys' for penitence we should require that you use your influence to keep us out of Iran.
Constitution Party of Michigan - www.ConstitutionPartyMI.net