A children’s story by Siegfried Engelmann and Elaine C. Bruner, “The Pet Goat” rocketed to pseudo-stardom on September 11, 2001, when ‘President’ George W. Bush sat with a group of children in their classroom reading it while the United States experienced the most heinous acts of terrorism in history.
At the time of the attacks, Andrew Card slipped into the classroom and notified Mr. Bush of the attacks; the next seven minutes of silence as he continued to sit in the room will never be forgotten.
This is not a diary about a book, but on the eerie appropriateness of the story as an analogy to what we now see unfolding in our nation today — the abandoning of Mr. Bush by his party and minions, and the equally damning confirmation that he has been, all along, their pet goat. A scapegoat, to be precise. Jump with me…
Ttraditional meaning of the word “scapegoat” is a very literal one: a goat, upon which all the sins and sorrows of a town were symbolically placed, who was cast out (driven out) of town to die alone in the desert.
This symbolically cleansed the town, leaving the actual sinners somehow blameless or redeemed, and the town was then ready to start the new year “fresh” and free from sin or blame for past transgressions.
We’ve seen the adoption of this strategy in many areas of life. The current (and departing) Republican regime have given us a multitude of examples of this, accusing others of engaging in what they call “The Blame Game” while not accepting any responsibility or accountability for their own obvious malfeasance.
Wikipedia provides the following history of “the scapegoat” (only the beginning is excerpted here):
Two very similar-appearing billy goats were brought into the courtyard of the Temple in Jerusalem on Yom Kippur as part of the Holy Service of that day. The high priest cast lots for the two goats. One goat was offered as a burnt offering, as was the bull. The second goat was the scapegoat. The high priest placed his hands on the head of the goat and confessed the sins of the people of Israel. The scapegoat was led away and let go in the wilderness according to Leviticus 16:22, although the Talmud adds that it was pushed over a distant cliff.
[Emphasis mine]
A cliff. How…appropriate.
As we watch the halls of Congressional power change hands from the Republicans, who ran roughshod over the nation and the world for the past 12 years, to the Democrats, who have promised investigations into suspected Constitutional violations and criminal activity, we’ve seen more examples of our would-be “boy king” flubbing it up in public discourse. More embarassing information has been leaked. Bush has been snubbed and undermined by world leaders and the popular press.
Pre-emptive investigations are being started. The GAO has sent a memo to Congress suggestion areas to investigate first. The GOP financial levees have been breached and their main supplier of their core aphrodisiac (cash) imprisoned. At least sixty-five Republicans are going to take a hit on that last item, and that doesn’t take into account the recent unconstitutional laws that essentially turn our nation into a police state.
On November 7, the balance of power was changed by the people of the nation, and effective January 1 of 2007, no existing Republican or enabler on the Hill or in DC is safe. They know this. They fear this.
They will do anything to prevent it.
The easiest method available to them — tried and true, so far, during their regime — is to create a scapegoat that will take the burden off of them, and along with it the glaring lights of the investigators (or so they hope). George W. Bush is now being positioned as that scapegoat.
Don’t let them do it.
A single person, acting alone and regardless of position, could not have wrought such devastating corruption and destruction upon our nation and the nations of the world. Do not accept a single goat when ten (or, in this case, a little more than 65) are due.
I warned of the possibility that George would find himself conveniently and solely held responsible for the mess we’re in. And, true to form, George has sought out his father to help him bail out of yet another failure, all the while still seeking to rewrite the historical record by throwing money at his “legacy” and spinning as fast as he can in the manner to which he has grown accustomed.
He is a loser.
Let him get strung up, but don’t allow him to be isolated and strung up alone. Do not accept a single goat, when ten (or a little more than sixty-five) are due.
Re-establish the value of accountability and ownership as part and parcel of the responsiblity that those who seek to “serve” our nation agree to shoulder. It’s part of the job description.
Let’s make it a core tenet that must be adhered to.
Crossposted at DailyKos, Booman Tribune, ePluribus Media, My Left Wing and Never in Our Names.