Someone Else's Alex
The people at MoveOn.org have a new Iraq ad that is, if they do say so themselves, their most effective ever. Then again, for the group that brought us the "General Petraeus or General Betray Us?" ad last September, that might not be saying much.
Nevertheless, the organization boasts on its Web site, "This isn't your average political ad — it lays out the truth about McCain's Iraq policy in a personal and compelling way." MoveOn also claims, "We just got the results back and polling shows that voters found it to be more persuasive than any other ad we've tested before."
I'm not persuaded. Having slandered a distinguished general officer, MoveOn has now moved on to express contempt for all who might choose to serve their country in uniform.
Their new and improved message is presented in a 30-second TV spot, "Not Alex," produced in conjunction with the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees. It's airing for a week on local broadcast stations in markets in the swing states of Ohio, Michigan and Wisconsin, and on two national cable channels, with a reported buy of over half a million dollars.
The ad is simple. A mother speaks as she holds her baby boy:
"Hi, John McCain. This is Alex. And he's my first. So far his talents include trying any new food and chasing after our dog. That, and making my heart pound every time I look at him. And so, John McCain, when you say you would stay in Iraq for 100 years, were you counting on Alex? Because if you were, you can't have him."
Take that, warmonger!
Now it might be pedantic to point out that John McCain isn't counting on Alex to serve in Iraq, because little Alex will only be 9 years old when President McCain leaves office after two terms.
And it might be picky to remark that when McCain was asked whether U.S. troops might have to remain in Iraq for as long as 50 years, he replied, "Maybe 100" — explaining, "As long as Americans are not being injured or harmed or wounded or killed, it's fine with me, and I hope it would be fine with you if we maintain a presence in a very volatile part of the world. ..."
In other words, McCain is open to an extended military presence in Iraq, similar to ones we've had in Germany, Japan or Kuwait. He does not wish for, nor does he anticipate, a 100-year war in Iraq.
But it is surely relevant to point out that the United States has an all-volunteer Army. Alex won't be drafted, and his mommy can't enlist him. He can decide when he's an adult whether he wants to serve. And, of course, McCain supports the volunteer army.
All of this is pretty much par for the course in political advertising. And I'm of the latitudinarian school when it comes to campaign discourse; politics is supposed to be rough and ready. So, why, I wondered after first seeing the MoveOn ad, did I find it so ... creepy?
I was having trouble putting my finger on just why until I came across a post by a mother of a soldier recently deployed in Iraq, at the Web site
BlueStarChronicles.com.Here's what the mother of an actual soldier has to say about the remarks of the mother of the prospective non-soldier in the ad:
"Does that mean that she wants other people's sons to keep the wolves at bay so that her son can live a life of complete narcissism? What is it she thinks happens in the world? ... Someone has to stand between our society and danger. If not my son, then who? If not little Alex then someone else will have to stand and deliver. Someone's son, somewhere."
This is the sober truth. Unless we enter a world without enemies and without war, we will need young men and women willing to risk their lives for our nation. And we're not entering any such world.
We do, however, live in a free country with a volunteer army. In the United States, individuals can choose to serve in the military or not. The choice not to serve should carry no taint, nor should it be viewed with the least prejudice. If Alex chooses to pursue other opportunities, he won't be criticized by John McCain or anyone else.
But that's not at all the message of the MoveOn ad.
The MoveOn ad is unapologetic in its selfishness, and barely disguised in its disdain for those who have chosen to serve — and its contempt for those parents who might be proud of sons and daughters who are serving. The ad boldly embraces a vision of a selfish and infantilized America, suggesting that military service and sacrifice are unnecessary and deplorable relics of the past.
And the sole responsibility of others.
Who needs waterboarding when you can just shove a little of William Kristol's prose down theie throats? Hahahahahaha . . . yes, it's over. Congratulations if you've reached this point without having stabbed yourself. Now onto my letter to the editor (note: the Times-Picayune changed the op-ed's headline from "Someone Else's Alex" to "Anti-war ad is a testament to selfishness) . . .
RE: Anti-war ad is a testament to selfishness (William Kristol, June 26, 2008)
Upon reading William Kristol's latest failed attempt at making sense (he's still advancing the completely baseless Germany-Iraq comparison), I couldn't help but think of the classic poem by Countée Cullen titled For a Lady I Know. The poem is incredibly powerful in its simplicity:
She even thinks that up in heaven
Her class lies late and snores
While poor black cherubs rise at seven
To do celestial chores.
It is fascinating to observe the heights to which Mr. Kristol's hypocrisy can soar. He would like to play the part of the honorable Mr. Cullen by pointing out the selfishness of little Alex's mother, but, unlike the unprivileged Mr. Cullen, Mr. Kristol is himself a member of the truly powerful elite. The hypocrisy, of course, is that, like so many other public advocates of unnecessary military action, Mr. Kristol completely avoided any kind of combat when he had the opportunity to serve his country honorably. Apparently it is not selfish for people of Mr. Kristol's class to lie late and snore when called to military duty, but it is pure selfishness when poor cherubs like the one in the moveon.org advertisement lie late and snore when they are called.
The fact that Mr. Kristol – or any other Neocon who never served in the U.S. military (the list is way too long to include here) – feels completely justified in attacking the "selfishness" of a mother who does not want her son to serve in a prolonged, senseless war started by the lies of a few privileged men including Mr. Kristol himself is way beyond galling – it borders on the criminally insane.
(End of letter)
And I didn't even bring up how Mr. Kristol is able to detect that the advertisement "barely disguised . . . its disdain for those who have chosen to serve — and its contempt for those parents who might be proud of sons and daughters who are serving." Nor did I mention how Mr. Kristol finds that "the ad boldly embraces a vision of a selfish and infantilized America, suggesting that military service and sacrifice are unnecessary and deplorable relics of the past." Really? It did all of that - with just a mother telling Senator McCain that he can't expect her son to serve in his war? If he can find all of that from that simple advertisement, then he's probably going to find some sort of erotic, homosexual subtext in Curious George Goes to the Hospital as well. And I also didn't mention how I feel that the ad is actually kind of lame in the first place and not even worth mentioning in a public forum, for goodness' fucking sake. I didn't mention any of that, and all of it would have been worth mentioning if the Vietnam-avoiding Mr. Kristol hadn't had the near-impossible audacity to come and out and call anyone - much less the mother of a newborn son - selfish for not wanting to serve in a war that he played a major role in starting. And as shitty and inhumane as I had always assumed Mr. Kristol and the rest of his Neocon, draft-dodging buddies were, I simply never thought even one of them could write a column so incredibly moronic and megalomaniacal.
It leaves me with one question: how in the fucking world does this guy stay employed? It's truly incomprehensible.
