*UPDATED* Of Goose, Gander And Chesterton

All over the leftosphere is condemnation of Gerald Ford for his pardon of Richard Nixon.

The underwhelming thought is that Mr Ford pardoned Mr Nixon for ‘any and all crimes that might have been committed,’ before impeachment charges could be brought before the Congress.

Why has there been no outrage from the leftosphere in regard to theft of Rudy Guiliani’s private papers? Shouldn’t the theft of personal property- and disclosure of some details of Mr Guiliani’s personal life, bother everyone? If indeed this despicable act was committed by employees of a presidential candidate that might end up in the White House, why isn’t the leftosphere up in arms?

The leftosphere has a point, to be sure. No one, not even a president, should be above the law.

That said, why wasn’t Hillary Clinton’s hiring of of private investigator Anthony Pellicano looked into? Why would she hire a man who reputation for intimidation, brutality and propensity to violence was well known? One time Clinton confidant and political ’spin doctor,’ Dick Morris said the hiring of a man with Pellicano’s reputation was deliberate. Hillary’s objective was to oversee

a systematic campaign to intimidate, threaten, frighten, discredit and punish innocent Americans whose only misdeed is their desire to tell the truth in public.

Anthony Pellicano had just the credentials Hillary Clinton was looking for.

Barbara Olsen, former congressional investigator wrote that

In the political life of the Clinton’s is was she [Hillary] who pioneered the use of private detectives. It was she who brought in and cultivated the professional dirt-diggers and smear artists.

While it is true that the break-in at the Watergate Hotel was a terrible- and illegal- dirty trick, it is safe to say that a middle of night burglary is nowhere near as despicable- and probably illegal- threats of intimidation and retribution for simply wanting to tell the truth. Why doesn’t that bother the leftosphere?

The Anchoress, in Each Of Us May Run Out Of Time, opines on the state of our individual- and by inference, collective national soul, politics and the state of country:

We are all fallen, true. Humanity broke in the fall and that broken-ness is still with us, and we demonstrate it in ourselves – and to each other – every day, when we fall and break some more. Some pick themselves up, look for grace and work diligently at remaining upright. Some do not – they just don’t think of it. Some, due to victimhood and a “beaten down” mentality believe they cannot rise above the Fall. Some simply will not. And some think they are themselves little deities. Brokenness, in each case.

The universe is a mysterious place, indeed. For every Abraham Lincoln who goes into politics to find meaning and redemption, there are others who seek public office to empower themselves and to control others, because in fact, they have neither the desire or ability to control themselves.

For every Abraham Lincoln who roamed the White House corridors late at night, unable to sleep knowing his nation was divided, there are others that seek out an excuse to have a party.

The Anchoress links to a friend who quotes GK Chesterton on Original Sin, but in fact, the remarks transcend faith:

A man who holds this view of life will find it giving light on a thousand things; on which mere evolutionary ethics have not a word to say. For instance, on the colossal contrast between the completeness of man’s machines and the continued corruption of his motives; on the fact that no social progress really seems to leave self behind; on the fact that the first and not the last men of any school or revolution are generally the best and purest; as William Penn was better than a Quaker millionaire or Washington better than an American oil magnate; on that proverb that says: “The price of liberty is eternal vigilance,” which is only what the theologians say of every other virtue, and is itself only a way of stating the truth of original sin; on those extremes of good and evil by which man exceeds all the animals by the measure of heaven and hell; on that sublime sense of loss that is in the very sound of all great poetry, and nowhere more than in the poetry of pagans and skeptics: “We look before and after, and pine for what is not”; which cries against all prigs and progressives out of the very depths and abysses of the broken heart of man, that happiness is not only a hope, but also in some strange manner a memory; and that we are all kings in exile.

That should be mandatory reading for every newly elected representative of the people.

*UPDATE*

No ship can sail without a rudder, as they say. All to often, the rudder that guides the left is the media.

The Anchoress, in an email exchange (SC&A are close terms with all the blogosphere’s luminaries), was kind enough to send us this Chesterton old/new pearl:

Modern man is staggering and losing his balance because he is being pelted with little pieces of alleged fact which are native to the newspapers; and, if they turn out not to be facts, that is still more native to newspapers.

Art, Saddam And Neville Chamberlain

Art dealers, gallery owners and other purveyors of culture understand that more often than not, it is the story behind the art that actually sells the art. In fact, the better- or more provocative- the story, the more desirable the art.

The most famous paintings, sculptures and other artistic endeavors each have or develop an almost mythical and unique story. Often, that story is more famous than the piece of art itself. Everyone knows about Vincent van Gogh’s ear or Michaelangelo’s Sistine Chapel. The romantic image of the art thief continues to endures. The same is true for lesser known works of art or artists- the better the story, the more desirable the artwork. There are more works created during the ’starving artist’s’ days living on the streets in Paris, sacrificing for his art attributed to pieces that originated in Toledo than one might imagine.

Some people can be talked into buying ‘art’ ‘painted by elephants or chimps. There are others who will pay outrageous prices for the scratchings of mass murderers and killers, just for the bragging rights.

The same is true for politics. More often than not, it is the sizzle and not the steak that ’sells.’ If the story is good enough or if a story can be concocted in a way that emotionally evocative, or has has a Robin Hood’ aspect to it, some people are only too happy to buy into the illusion.

Neo-neocon has an excellent post, Don’t Cry For Saddam And His Show Trial, in which she deconstructs the show trial ’story’ of Saddam and his execution. She takes the left to task for their spin- and hypocrisy.

Ah, the Left should know about “show trials”-they championed them and applauded them (and practically invented them), back in Moscow in the thirties. Take a look and you’ll see a description of a bunch of real show trials…

It’s an interesting example of projection, once again, that Leftists today make the charge of “show trial” towards Saddam Hussein’s, when the Left presided over the most prominent example of the genre in recent memory. And, by the elastic definition the Left now holds of the term “show trial,” no trial of a former dictator for war crimes could help but be a “show trial,” because all are conducted with an eye to the purpose of “showing” to the world what that leader has done, all begin with factual knowledge of the perpetrator’s well-known guilt, all have elements of vengeance for the terrible crimes committed, and all have partly political aims…

However, if the Left ever gets its chance to try Bush and Rumsfeld for war crimes, you can rest assured they’ll consider those to be no “show trials” at all, but the fairest of fair proceedings.

Neo doesn’t have to go back to thirties to find show trials by regimes supported or ignored by the left. Show trials are a fact of life all over the Arab world and in some parts of South America as well. As Neo rightly points out, show trials by ‘right kind of regimes’ are ‘but the fairest of fair proceedings,’ as far as the left are concerned.

Palestinian legal resourcefulness can be particularly evident. More often than not, show trials are dispensed with altogether in favor of extra judical murder. There appears to be little, if any outrage by the left reserved for those kind of show trials. As Neo noted, the left has a long and glorious history of supporting, ignoring or participating in those kind of events- and the legacy of ignoring the the misdeeds of those the left supports goes on to this very day.

Stripped of their story, the hypocrisy on the part of the left is nothing less than stunning.

Dr Sanity, in her inimitable way, reduces the deeply ingrained pathology and accompanying dysfunctional behavior in a few succinct and pointed words. In speaking of the narcissistic individuals, we can see how a community of narcissists coalesce and create an environment of delusion that feeds upon itself. In The Nacissisic Underground, she notes

This is characteristic of the peculiar derangement of the borderline/narcissistic person. It is all about them, you see. The world is not big enough for their needs and anyone else’s at the same time. All situations must be filtered through the feeling prism of “what’s most important for me?” or “how can I most benefit from this?”. Compassion can be faked if necessary to achieve one’s ends, but expressing the rage and hatred inside is even more important…

Note that there is considerable suffering in the world right now, but it is all about their feelings. Their beliefs. Their suffering and conflict…

This is the worse kind of narcissism–the kind we refer to as “malignant”. People who are so obsessed with their own needs and feelings, that they can’t really be bothered to care about anyone else…[emp SC&A]

All without noticing –or taking responsibility for the consequences of– their anger and rage

The left, as pointed out by Neo, and as evidenced by their shrill and frenzied protests and vitriol, are rarely aware of their own hypocrisies. It is ironic that so much of the left takes great pains to point out the hypocrisies of their adversaries with predictable rage and regularity. In the case of Saddam’s trial and execution, it was less about Saddam, his execution or even the opportunity to find a way to blame America. If they could present a good enough story, they would be perceived as more compassionate, more moral or more righteous. Of course, the story has to be seen by the biggest audience possible. That is why there is so little concern by many on the left for the victims of evil- they are after all, just the ‘little people.’

When the perpetrators of the slaughter in Darfur are brought to justice, the left will raise their voices to defend the criminals that oversaw so much horror and to impede justice. Of course, the left is now in a position where they have to defend the perpetrators. There were few if any loud voices from the left as the crimes and evil were being committed by tyrants and despots they have to support- because those tyrants and despots have an anti American and anti Western agenda- and what could be more important that that, right?

The legacy of the left will be what they make of it, not the stories they tell. If they contribute to the higher ideals of man’s potential, their legacy will be assured. If they continue to support the most base and evil men and ideologies, no amount of story telling (or purported good intentions) will change the reality.

Notwithstanding the oft repeated mantra of the ‘evils’ of capitalism and the white man, the unimpeachable truth that for all it’s flaws and shortcomings capitalism and free societies have contributed more to the freedom and advancement of mankind than any other system.

Neville Chamberlain, who bent over backwards to appease Adolph Hitler, was idolized by the left in the UK before the war. Now, despite his ‘good intentions’ and ‘well meaning,’ Chamberlain is reviled. There is nothing the left can do to change that truth.

The left today will be remembered in the same way Chamberlain is perceived- foolish, inconsequential and as being responsible in part for enabling one of the greatest calamities that mankind has ever endured.

The art produced by chimps and elephants and embraced by the progressives too, will be forgotten and dispensed with. In the end, some stories just aren’t good enough.