It was almost sad to watch. President Obama returned to Berlin where as a candidate five years ago it seemed like he was running for President of the World, or Messiah. Where nearly a quarter of a million “hope and change” Berliners showed up to cheer on candidate Obama back in 2008, barely 5,000 invited guests could be scraped together for the now leader of the free world… and I use both terms loosely.
Problem is that the Germans have an historical perspective we in the US may lack, and whereas the recent scandals in the Administration may remind us of the Nixon years, for the Germans it recalls something more sinister; the Ministry for State Security, The Stasi. These secret police arguably maintained greater surveillance over their own people than any such organization in history. With one full time agent for every 166 East Germans, and one citizen informer for every 6.5 people, the presence of the government’s watchful eye was pervasive. It’s easy to understand why Germans might have a heightened sensitivity to the Big Brother tactics of the Obama administration. Add to this the realization of how little of candidate Obama’s soaring rhetoric from five years ago has seen any fruition in President Obama’s ascension to power, and the whispers from Berlin are almost audible, “Der Kaiser hat keine kleider!” …the emperor has no clothes!
It was almost pitiable. Regardless of the just comeuppance that is heralded by the cool reception in Berlin, there is a sadness in watching one of our own so momentously fall from grace. The parallels to Nixon are compelling… with the blistering Berlin sun, the President was even sweating like Nixon… Gods don’t sweat! Despite the arrogance, the subterfuge, and the corruption, in the end, Nixon was a pathetic character. Likewise, it is hard to watch as a man so utterly unprepared for the hardest job in the world has finally run out of rhetoric to escape his own incompetence. He ran through a few anachronistic platitudes about climate change, Guantanamo, and nuclear treaties with Russia, safe issues, but stayed clear of most of the more critical issues in world politics. It doesn’t matter; nobody is listening. The loss of respect for Obama as a world leader is palpable.
It is a typical characteristic of good people not to kick a man while he is down. We empathize even with our nemeses, and hesitate to pile on a fallen adversary. We are, however, in danger of mistaking this momentary stumbling as anything more than a tentative shift in momentum. Beyond the self serving motivations of Richard Nixon, this President has sought to fundamentally change the foundations of our Republic, and to some extent has succeeded. He may be down, but he is far from out. As much as pity might move our hearts to relent, this is not the time for compassion, not the time for mercy. The door has been cracked, it is time to kick it open. People are beginning, finally, to pay attention; it is not the time to be silent. The stakes are too important for kindness, we have come very near to losing our nation; and while violence is not to be tolerated, this is still a war for the future; there will be time for mercy when we are no longer on the battlefield. For the first time in a long time daylight has revealed the truth even to those not searching for it. It is time to seize and exploit that advantage.
IMHO: The tactics of war would seem to favor the corrupt. Kindness, empathy, pity, mercy… would seem at a disadvantage to hatred, violence, deception and arrogance. Yet history has shown that good people can rise against tyranny, kind hearts can stand against injustice, and the merciful can succeed against their oppressor. There is a strength in righteousness that can weather the onslaught of its adversaries and prevail. We cannot betray the virtue of our positions to pursue the tactics used against us, but our kindness can only extend as far as mere civility when our national destiny is at stake. It’s not running up the score as long as the game remains in question. Mercy can wait.
