Heart of the Matter 10/11/08
- By Barry Eisler
- Published 10/11/2008
Barry Eisler
After graduating from Cornell Law School in 1989, Barry Eisler spent three years in the CIA's Directorate of Operations, and then three years in Japan, where he earned his black belt at the Kodokan International Judo Center. Eisler's books have won the Barry Award and the Gumshoe Award for Best Thriller of the Year; have been included in numerous "Best Of" lists; and have been translated into nearly twenty languages. A film version of the first book in Eisler's John Rain series, Rain Fall, will be released by Sony Pictures Japan in March 2009 and stars Gary Oldman as Rain's CIA nemesis William Holtzer. For more, please visit www.barryeisler.com.
Amerika
Here are some videos of recent McCain/Palin rallies. Look at the kind of hatred and anger they're appealing to and fomenting. Look at the kind of know-nothing, us vs. them, violent passions they stoke. Even as their supporters rant "traitor!" and "socialist!" and "terrorist!" and "off with his head!" and "kill him!" and other such slander and exhortations to violence, neither McCain nor Palin ever once admonishes anyone to cool down, these are *Americans* we're denouncing and threatening to murder.
Think about that for a moment. Not just the calumny of "terrorist" and "traitor" and the rest, but death threats, as well. Against a sitting United States senator and candidate for president. A fellow American. And not a word of protest from McCain or Palin.
A few questions:
What does it say about a party when it is attracts supporters like these?
What does it say about a candidate when he or she repeatedly encourages supporters like these?
Can McCain and Palin control the passions they're stoking? Or is it more likely that such passions, stoked, will lead to real violence?
If fascism comes to America, how will it sound? What will it look like? What will be its slogans?




