SADDAM
We know him well enough to call him by his first name.
But, the tone in which his name is being said these days, at least here in America, is anything but friendly.
We called Hitler “Adolph” and there was Kaiser “Bill” before that. Along the way we have mentioned others in such a folksy manner as well, but it has been said in ridicule and in some cases complete names have been difficult to pronounce or squeeze into limited headline space.
When a subject or person becomes “a laughing matter” with people here in the United Stated it is often a good indication they are “done for”...”kaput” or “finished.” Humor can be, and has been used as a weapon in politics and warfare for much longer than we might think. It has been used successfully to point up the basic weaknesses of the subjects being pillared and to caricature them in terms everyone understands at his or her own level.When we refer to Amin as “Edie” or Castro as “Fidel” we are reducing them from man-sized problems to kid-sized tormentors.
Thomas Nast is generally credited with introducing the fine art of political cartoons to the world of print, by verbal lampooning has been in practical use ever since man first learned to point his finger at someone else and laugh.
When we choose to speak of individuals in this manner we are showing we do not accept them as mature men and women. We do the same to artists of various kinds – actors, actresses, writers, and others - we don't quite accept them as being what they pretend to be, or think they are, other than haughty and egocentric as a rule.
Ridicule can ruin.
A secondary phase is already underway in regard to Saddam. When this step starts critics begin to append descriptive titles and sub-titles and the meaning becomes more intense. How often , just in recent weeks, have you heard of “Saddam, the Thief of Bagdad” or “Saddam. the Beast of...”, or “the killer of Bagdad!” How about “Saddam – the Butcher of Bagdad?”
There is one thing, however, that is not funny at all about this tendency of Americans to see humor in such situations!
We must be sure we are not trying to cover unpreparedness and not being ready to best such enemies or that by laughing at anything bad we can drive it way! Ask any professional comics. They will tell you: “Being funny is serious business.”
A.L.M. November 13, 2002 [c426wds]
