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The Politics of BloodPosted by Joseph Bottum on August 31, 2008, 2:24 AMFilm-maker Michael Moore has apparently praised the gulf weather for its chance of disrupting the Republican convention: “This hurricane is proof that there is a god in heaven.†Another low point in politics, though possibly one that could be passed off with a laugh—a partisan irony, rather than a serious derangement.But over on the leftist Daily Kos website, there is a post that sinks much lower—so low that it caused many of the commentators to denounce it. Which led another commentator to make this remark: I am prepared to do whatever is necessary to destroy the Republican Party as it exists today as well as everything it stands for. If health insurance for all, an end to the Iraq War, an end to torture and illegal wiretapping, and a sane energy policy can be obtained at the price of destroying one teenage girl, her family, and the surrendering our self-respect I see that as a cheap trade. Go talk about nobility of purpose to those 4,000+ dead American soldiers in Iraq. Indeed, as another comment added: This is about Power . . . How it is obtained—and how it is wielded in ways that affects all of us. Are you telling me that you would not use character-destroying lies to ensure a war against Iran does not occur? Are you telling me you would not spread lies about a man’s integrity, even if it defeated a candidate who take away the right to choose? Are you telling me you would not destroy the love a family holds for one another, even if it meant letting someone who would destroy the constitution become president? None of use would use these tactics in a perfect world. It is not a perfect world. It is a fallen world. We have to judge costs and benefits, not moral absolutes. I know this is the way to fanaticism and destruction—believe me I do. But, when we face opponents such as the ones we face . . . what else is there for us to do? What choice do we have? When faced with monsters, we have to be monstrous ourselves. “When faced with monsters, we have to be monstrous ourselves.†Well, no, but even if it were so, think one step deeper: What happens when the monsters are merely in your mind? When they are ordinary politicians whose views you so strongly reject that you have to elevate them into monsters to explain to yourself why they could hold such mistaken views?This is the blade by which politics turns to bloodshed.
