Digby has a post up basically
eviscerating Chris Matthews for his man-crush swooning over George Bush the day of the "Mission Accomplished" landing. No doubt I think the landing turned out to be a political liability for Bush in the end. However, Digby's resentment of Chris Matthews is, in my humble opinion, wasted energy.
We can carry on all we want about the Legacy Media's complicity in building up public approval for the Iraq invasion, but it will avail nothing. In the end, it's over and done with, and no amount of railing against the media types still in front of the camera, or taking up column space in print, will change what happened.
The truth is simple, majority does not really rule, it follows. Media types like Chris Matthews are followers. The majority of the population are followers. I'll even include myself in that group. I was willing to give President Bush the benefit of the doubt about his leadership after Sept. 11, 2001. That he failed me, and the rest of the country, goes without saying. Had he been successful, we would not now be talking to a resurgent Taliban in Afghanistan. In any event, on Sept 12, 2001, I was a willing follower.
Now, Chris Matthews simply did what he's always done, he followed. Oh, sure, he gets all riled up and spouts off incoherently from time to time. But that's to be expected. His ADD some days just gets the best of him. Indeed, I am willing to give him that excuse on the day of the aircraft carrier landing. Hell, I would have probably gotten caught up in the excitement.
Now, let me reiterate; that was the past.
If we are to be held to the expectation of always being perfect, and never given a chance to redeem ourselves, to earn back trust, than the entire population of the world can not be trusted. There are many things I did, as a child, an adolescent, and as a drug addicted adult, that were hurtful, malicious, and disastrous; both to my life and others' lives. I've had to learn to accept that part of my past. So too have those I harmed learned to come to accept me despite my past. It's called forgiveness, a necessary component of being human because of our many flaws.
I am willing to give Chris Matthews a break. After the shock of Sept. 11, 2001, many of us were lost, rudderless. We naively relied on our president and his administration to lead us through the tragedy and become stronger. And his actions at first seemed to suggest he was headed in that direction. Unfortunately, we have since learned they victimized us, taking advantage of our collective shock and naivety. However, where the Bush administration purposely lead us astray, I do not for one minute believe Chris Matthews, and many other journalists, were malicious in their blind following.
Chris is now working to expose the fraud that was the Bush/Cheney administration. Personally, I am glad to see it, and hope to see more of this in the future. If he's doing right by us now, I am willing to overlook his exuberance of the past. Sometimes, the best apology is not explicitly spoken but implicitly shown by works. Often, we ourselves change unawares, and only in looking back over time do we see that change. Perhaps Chris has changed, and is not yet fully aware of that change.
I understand Digby's fear of trusting Chris Matthews, along with many of his peers, considering their past actions and how they helped perpetuate a grave error of leadership. I, on the other hand, will instead give him the benefit of the doubt, and hope that he is now working towards being an honest defender of the truth.
Where I will not give such benefit is to those who still actively carry water for the past administration. They were, and continue to be, complicit in the manipulation. They still use fear and anger to pursue an ideology that harms the majority and benefits the rich elitists in this world. Their works expose them as corrupt. I maybe forgiving, but I am not naive. Not any longer. My shock has passed.
In the end, though, I have to recognize the humanity in all of us, which includes the imperfections we all carry. I refuse to live my life in constant fear of those flaws. It was that type of fear Bush and Cheney used to manipulate and mislead us, at the cost of our national pride, the loss of over 3000 (and rising) military members, and the loss of countless Iraqis lives.
I believe there is good in the majority of the people. More so than there is bad. I choose to focus on the good. I have no choice. Well, okay, yes I do. Yet, to focus on the bad means I will be unhappy, fearful, and miserable, opening me to further manipulation by people like those in the Bush administration. I certainly don't want that to happen - again. I believe Chris Matthews, and others, are also coming around to recognize their errors of the past, and are working at changing.
The thing is, I am not in control of others, and so have no say in how quickly, or slowly, a person changes old behaviors. That includes fellow progressives who still feel a lack of trust and an unwillingness to give others a chance at redemption. I have to recognize my own lack of power over the thoughts and actions of others. I have to let go and let
Spaghetti & Sauce.
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