| I wasn't going to write today, at least not until I got home from work. But as I listened to NPR murmering in the background while pawing through hapharzardly organized files, I couldn't help noticing a bit of irony and hypocrisy in Bush's Second Inaugeral Address--although, I must add that I find irony and hypocrisy in most things he says (or tries to say). In particular I noted the use of "fire" as a trope. The first instance appears near the beginning, in Bush's unavoidable allusion to 9/11, which he calls "the day of fire." A little while later, as he celebrates the "successes" (my inserted irony) of Iraq--following our "great liberating tradition" (how many countries, I ask, have we liberated since World War II? Um... I can't think of any)) the fire trope returns: as hope kindles hope, millions more will find it. By our efforts, we have lit a fire as well - a fire in the minds of men. It warms those who feel its power, it burns those who fight its progress, and one day this untamed fire of freedom will reach the darkest corners of our world. Interestingly, this entire section, while trying to characterize this fire as a force for good, could easily also further elaborate the destructive force of the Iraqi "insurgence," the anti-American contingent whose fire of hatred--that fire first made frighteningly clear on 9/11--now only burns brigher. Fire is a dangerous weapon, it harms everyone, regardless of who's "good" and "bad." The Bush Administration has us playing with fire, but forces of nature are not to be tamed by mere mortals. On the flip side of fire, the repeated mentions of the "frigid day in Washington" brought to mind that timeless phrase "A cold day in hell." Four more years of Dubya? Cold, indeed.... |
| Thursday, January 20, 2005 |