He is Batman
Published by StB on Friday, July 25, 2008 at 9:53 AM.
I must admit I laughed when I saw the headline on page A15 of the Wall Street Journal. I was expecting some twisted analogy to bring the president and Batman together. Instead I read a well thought out article that made sense.
Wall Street Journal > What Bush and Batman Have in Common
Now some of you have already scoffed at the notion (yeah, I am pointing at you Duggles!). If you have read the Dark Knightcomic graphic novel, you would recognize that the author Andrew Klavan is dead on. Batman is not the hero as he had usually been portrayed as. In the Dark Knight, he is the bad guy. The public hates him. Hell, he even beat up Superman.
But Batman knew what had to be done. He didn't need to be popular. Batman understood reality. Doing what is right is hard, and speaking the truth is dangerous.
Vilify Bush? That would be the nice way to say it. Few people read about what has truly happened nowadays. They get their talking point from their favorite blog or protest group and quickly believe it to be gospel. Those opposed to the war on terror will always believe that every prisoner in Guantanamo Bay is innocent, tortured and if let go would go home to their village and peacefully move on in life. History has shown that is simply not true. Sadly, history won't be kind to President Bush as his accomplishments will be derided by a liberal media who will refuse to give him his due credit.
Wall Street Journal > What Bush and Batman Have in Common
There seems to me no question that the Batman film "The Dark Knight," currently
breaking every box office record in history, is at some level a paean of praise
to the fortitude and moral courage that has been shown by George W. Bush in this
time of terror and war. Like W, Batman is vilified and despised for confronting
terrorists in the only terms they understand. Like W, Batman sometimes has to
push the boundaries of civil rights to deal with an emergency, certain that he
will re-establish those boundaries when the emergency is past.
Now some of you have already scoffed at the notion (yeah, I am pointing at you Duggles!). If you have read the Dark Knight
But Batman knew what had to be done. He didn't need to be popular. Batman understood reality. Doing what is right is hard, and speaking the truth is dangerous.
When heroes arise who take those difficult duties on themselves, it is tempting
for the rest of us to turn our backs on them, to vilify them in order to protect
our own appearance of righteousness. We prosecute and execrate the violent
soldier or the cruel interrogator in order to parade ourselves as paragons of
the peaceful values they preserve.
Vilify Bush? That would be the nice way to say it. Few people read about what has truly happened nowadays. They get their talking point from their favorite blog or protest group and quickly believe it to be gospel. Those opposed to the war on terror will always believe that every prisoner in Guantanamo Bay is innocent, tortured and if let go would go home to their village and peacefully move on in life. History has shown that is simply not true. Sadly, history won't be kind to President Bush as his accomplishments will be derided by a liberal media who will refuse to give him his due credit.
