Dark Times

There's a really good article on the Bush Administration and revenge over at Salon. Very dark, suggesting that president Bush might have something in common with the protagonists of jacobin revenge dramas.

It may seem a stretch to compare the political beliefs of George W. Bush and his right-wing supporters with a death-obsessed, grimly self-destroying dramatic genre that is now more than 400 years old. Certainly the parallels cannot be drawn too closely. But the comparison sheds light on Bush's moral vision. Like a protagonist in a revenge tragedy, Bush sees himself as surrounded by evil, one-dimensional villains, whom he has sworn a solemn oath to defeat. Like Vindice, he figuratively carries around a skull -- in his case the shield of a policeman who died on 9/11 -- to spur himself on.

But like so many revenge tragedy protagonists, Bush is fatally flawed. By taking revenge against a foe who had not actually injured him, he opened a Pandora's Box of gratuitous violence, one he cannot now close.

Anyway it's well worth considering, despite being quite depressing.

While you have access to Salon you might also check out their War Room - they've been on fire the last few days.