At least 5 or 6 times today I have read the words, from people who have been anti-war all along: “We always knew we would win this war … but…” (always the “but”, always the “but”).
But I’m more interested in the first part of the sentence. “We always knew we would win…” We did? What about all your yammering about quagmires, the Arab street, another Vietnam, another Mogadishu, oh and did I say the word “quagmire”?
Nobody is saying the word “win” yet. There was a day of celebration yesterday, yes. But nothing has been “won” yet. It was a happy day, worthy of taking the pause. But now … back to work.
“We always knew we would win…” This from the pundits who have been spouting “quagmirequagmirequagmire” for weeks now. These are probably the very same pundits who were blithering about the “brutal Afghanistan winter” in 2001, a winter which turned out to not be brutal at all. These people do not know how to handle good news. They do not know how to say: “Hmmm. I think I was a little bit off there in my predictions.”
Read the columns of Roger Ebert or other movie reviewers after Oscar night. All reviewers make predictions. That’s part of the game. And then the follow-up columns are filled with sentences like: “Well, I underestimated the Academy on that one … ” or “That one certainly was a surprise!” or “What were they thinking?? How could so-and-so have been overlooked?” They know they are not God. They know that predictions are only guesses. Just guesses, that’s all. And then you get to come clean afterwards. And say: “Yay! I predicted that one!” or “Whoops. I was WAY off on that one.”
I suppose my wish for these pundits to come out and say, “”We were a little bit off on the whole ‘quagmire’ thing” is my version of living in a fantasy land.
Also, I can’t get it out of my head that this is FAR from over. I am not partying like it’s 1999, because … what the hell now? Who is going to govern Iraq? How will we help? How will we keep this thing moving in a positive way? I took April 9, 2003 as a moment to be GLAD, to be HAPPY, to rejoice in other people’s happiness. That was what it was. Now let’s keep moving. And watch your back.
