Posted on Friday, January 01, 2010 11:00 AM
In trying to come to terms with the Big Zero, the Demon Decade, these terrible years that have swept over us, I have realized that the element of the debasement that most characterized the decade was not the return to 13th century interrogation practices, or the resurgence of Crusader sympathies, or the reckless plundering of our resources and the appropriation of our wealth. No, the essence of this un-nameable decade lies in the disassociation between the image and the truth, in the way politics have been aestheticized to an extend last seen in the 1930's. Perhaps we should call it Benjamin's Second Decade.
This clip therefore seems to be the ultimate tribute to the decade. It infuriated me, depressed me, and amazed me. It is a desecration of the integrity of the image that forms the perfect epitaph for the post-WWII world order, the truthy face of the 'Free World'.
Update: You know, prompted by your reaction I've looked at the clip again, and I am still struck by it. By focussong only on Bush, it both highlights his meglomania and correctly assigns responsiblity for the decade. The gospelly music can even be seen as a reference to Bush's Compassionate Conservative policies in Africa that denied health and rights to millions of women, juxtaposed against the canned emotion shots of the evengelicals' stooge, and leaving us with the reminder that Bush lives in us. And they are right - the bitter memory of all those needless deaths lives in us.