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Giddy Minds and Foreign Quarrels
By Joseph Sobran, February 17, 1998
An observer of ordinary Americans going about
their business could easily get the impression that the
villainy of Saddam Hussein is the last thing on their
minds. How curious that their government is on the
verge of bombing Iraq in their name.
Over the past few days the talking heads have been
arguing about the proposed "military action." The
hawks take the puzzling position that the polls tell us
Americans "support" bombing Iraq, but that the
Clinton administration hasn't "made the case" for it.
If the people already support it, why does a case have
to be made for it?
Many people "support" the bombing in a passive
way: It doesn't really interest them, and they don't
feel strongly about it one way or the other -- yet.
But if something goes awry, they may demand:
"What the hell are we doing over there, anyway?"
"We" aren't over there; the U.S. government is. If
that government represented the people in general,
its plans for war would depend on what the people
wanted -- not on winning the people's approval for
what the government itself wants to do for its own
reasons.
Countries are nearly always ruled by a tiny fraction
of the population with interests of their own. These
ruling elites usually give eloquent lip-service to
"democracy" to keep the acquiescence of the
ordinary passive people; the elites may also provide
"programs" to buy the votes they need at certain
intervals.
The people are the sea on which the politicians sail.
Now and then the sea may get choppy. It may rock
the ship of state, but it never directs it. When it turns
violent, it merely imposes certain limits on the
ambitions of the crew.
Democracy, or rule by the people, is impossible, but
in practice the people can force a certain turnover
among the rulers. But the two-party system limits
the amount of change the people can force; they are
allowed only a shifting preference between two
permanent factions. This is why so many people
sensibly ignore politics.
Because the majority doesn't rule actively, the
government has to explain itself once in a while.
This would be unnecessary if the rulers had the same
purposes as the ruled. You don't have to persuade
people who already share your desires; it's when your
desires differ that you have to convince them that
your desires somehow harmonize with theirs.
Right now we have a very odd situation. The big
adolescent in the White House is in huge trouble not
because he is immoral or criminal, though he is both,
but because he is amazingly reckless. In order to sate
his grubby lust, he has gambled with the fates of his
political allies and dependents.
And yet, when it comes to war, Bill Clinton has been
remarkably prudent -- much more so than most of
the ruling elite. He has seemed to understand that
war is rarely popular and always unpredictable.
The people may support war, but they seldom
demand it, and they are never grateful for it. The
bitterness of Korea and Vietnam drove Harry
Truman and Lyndon Johnson into retirement. Even
successful war leaders -- Winston Churchill and
George Bush, for example -- are often voted out of
office.
Bill Clinton can't explain to us why he wants war
with Iraq for the simple reason that he doesn't want
it. It's not in his interest any more than it's in the
interest of ordinary Americans. But he also can't
come right out and say that he doesn't want war,
because he would enrage much of the ruling elite by
saying so.
Until now, Clinton has been conducting a covertly
popular policy of avoiding war without announcing
his intentions. But the recent scandals have made it
hard for him to resist the pressure for war, and may
even have changed his mind: Judging by his Tuesday
speech, he sees Saddam Hussein as offering him a
chance to strike "presidential" poses -- making war,
not love.
Shakespeare's Henry IV counsels his son to "busy
giddy minds with foreign quarrels" -- always useful
advice for those who are simultaneously in power
and in trouble.
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