In Which Michael Smerconish Realizes the Obvious
Shorter Smerconish: “Holy shit! You mean people actually die in wars? That’s awful!
Smirkie the Bald-Headed Clown, the Shame of Philadelphia, is a long-time warmongerer. He supports torture. He supported the war from day one. And now that two kids from his hometown of Doylestown have come home in flag-draped coffins, he’s all of a sudden shocked, just shocked at what’s happened.
THINGS LIKE this don’t happen here. That’s what I was thinking while standing at a parking lot at State and Hamilton in Doylestown last week.
[snip]
few hundred. And as the clock (a gift from the Rotary Club marking Doylestown’s founding in 1838) was about to strike 8, someone called for a moment of silence.In front of the crowd was a fit, immaculately groomed man wearing a blue Oxford shirt. He was on the verge of tears. His wife, in black, was already over that line. Equally distraught were their daughter and son-in-law. No one could blame them, or understand their loss.
They were Col. Thomas Manion, Jannette Manion, Ryan Borek and David Borek - the family of Travis Manion.
The night was to be First Friday in Doylestown, a monthly ritual for dining out and shopping. But the evening had been recast as a vigil for Marine First Lt. Manion, who died in Iraq on April 29.
But by the time it began, its purpose had changed yet again. Now it wasn’t just to honor Manion, but also another man from town as well, Army First Lt. Colby Umbrell, who died May 3. Neither fit the cliche of who’s fighting in Iraq.
They were 26, scholars, athletes, warriors, patriots, and from Doylestown. Young men who could’ve done anything with their lives. Now there were two condolence books to sign, and, silently, the crowd did so. As we waited, a young woman named Christy Jefferson sang “Amazing Grace.”
[snip]
It’s difficult to localize a war fought around the globe when daily stories describe a death toll pushed upward by often-faceless, nameless soldiers killed in combat.But things have changed. Never again will I read a headline on war dead and see only words. The war has now come home.
Yes Michael, people actually die in wars, even people you know personally. Welcome to reality.
I have often said that one of the characteristics of conservatives is an inability to feel empathy: you see it in the right-to-life crowd, who act as if women are lining up for blocks to have abortions, and pass laws that don’t have exceptions for the healt of the mother. You hear it in Tony Snow’s comments from last year that 2500 dead Americans in Iraq is “just a number.”
It is also often true that conservatives must suffer a given misfortune personally before they have compassion for others. Again this is because, I believe, as a group, conservatives lack the human emotion of empathy: they are only capable of thinking of themselves. Witness former Illinois Governor Ryan’s decision to abolish the death penalty: it was only when he realized he had personally signed off on the execution of innocent men that he decided maybe there was a problem. Look at Arlen Specter, the conservative republican who suddenly embraced medical marijuana when he was diagnosed with cancer. Or pro-life Nancy Reagan, who supports stem cell research, because her husband’s Alzheimers could have been treated. Charles Krauthammer, the pro-lifer who supports stem cell research because it would free him from his wheelchair. George Will, who is against pretty much all social programs except those that aid the retarded, because (you guessed it) his son has Don Syndrome. And on and on.
So today Michael Smerconish learned not just that war kills people, but that it kills people who don’t “fit the cliche of who’s fighting in Iraq”, who presumably are more valuable than those who do fit the cliche (whih is exactly what, Mr. Smerconish?).
To those of us who never supported the war, our soldiers have ALWAYS been more than “just a number.” It is a pity Michael Smerconish didn’t take that into account in 2003. And 2004. And 2005. And 2006/
3 Responses to “In Which Michael Smerconish Realizes the Obvious”
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May 12th, 2007 at 12:22 am
“Neither fit the cliche of who’s fighting in Iraq.”
I’m sorry. WTF does that mean??? I really do NOT get that? Were they Americans? Were they ALIVE? OK, that’s the cliche of who is fighting (AND DYING) in Irag!
May 12th, 2007 at 3:56 pm
no one could blame them, or understand their loss?
more proof of the emotional retardation of the right. maybe no one can understand why there had to be that loss, but really, empathy again…not that hard to understand loss. and who would ever blame a grieving widow for crying at her husband’s vigil.
gimme a fuckin’ break.
May 28th, 2007 at 11:28 am
[...] The Inqy Gets It Right By Brendan A year or so ago, the Philadelphia Inquirer was bought by noted right wing hack Brian Tierney, who promised that as publisher he would not let his personal opinions dictate editorial content. Since then, he’s wavered a bit on the promise, stacking the editorial page with right-wing dinglalings like nationally syndicated wingers like Jonathan Last and Jonah Goldberg, and increasing the presence of local nitwits like Kevin Ferris and the Shame of Philadelphia, Michael Smerconish, who recently observed that white kids from Doylestown…. [...]