Fanon #2

In this next section of Fanon, we are suddenly transported to Africa as the revolutionary leader Frantz Fanon tries to find a legendary trade route in Mali. This excursion is one with a purpose, albeit one with long odds but he is willing to take a chance and fight sticking to the orthodox methods. Fanon's goal is to find a way to strike "one quick blow (that) could sever the Gordian knot of bloody struggle with the French" (37). Fanon's strategy to help gain Algerian independence is one that makes little sense to his commanding officer, but he is confident in his idea and presses on despite setbacks. The ancient trading route that Fanon seeks seems long lost at best but this only strengthens his convictions that his path to Ethiopia to find allies is the best hope for Algeria. Fanon, or rather Thomas writing as Fanon, says "Doesn't the invisibility of ancient passage prove his point, strengthen his arguement. You can see the path only if you're on the ground, only if you shape-shift and become a lizard crawling over the rocks" (38). In Fanon's mind, the mere fact that this trading route is unclear to anyone proves that they're on the right track, that by being lost will be the way they find their way.

Fanon #1

For my outside reading book for third quarter, I chose to read Fanon by John Edgar. The book is written in a rather confusing third person perspective that contains no dialogue and is somewhat self-narration. The book is told somewhat through the thoughts of the character Thomas, a fiction writer who sometimes talks to the dead revolutionary, Franz Fanon, about whom he is trying to write a book. In this first section, Thomas is delivered a box that might contain a severed head. As Thomas is a fiction writer and has a messed up view of reality, it's difficult to interpret what his reaction might be, not to mention what exactly is real. While experiencing the shock of being sent a head, Thomas tries to think about how to rationalize the situation through writing. He thinks, "You would rather write about an imaginary head, right....Writing it until you get it right. Until its words, a story, not Thomas coming apart, not something words can't grasp" (16). As a writer, Thomas recognizes how writing about an incident can help him understand what he is experiencing. But this quote isn't about Thomas actually writing about what happened. He's only thinking about writing and how that would help him hold onto his sanity if he so chose to pick up the pen. Confusion between Thomas' thoughts, reality and the book that Thomas is trying to write are further garbled as the book progresses. It is revealed that a note with a quote from Fanon was included in the package along with the head. But what is happening is confused with what Thomas thinks should happen. He comments to himself, "Just a second, Thomas. Are you sure a Fanon quote a good idea here. Why add to Fanon's bad rap as apostle of violence, hater of whites, spawner of terrorists" (17). Thomas, in his shock, forgets that he didn't write the note that was sent to him. Somehow, the mysterious sender seems to know Thomas' intentions so well, he has confused the writer as to who is doing the writing. Thomas' grasp on reality seems weak to start with, but the arrival of the head only served to confuse him more.

The story takes place shortly after 9/11 in New York. As the world is recoiling from this event, Thomas notes the loss of innocence for his community as a whole and yet how little anything has changed. As a helicopter flies overhead, he wonders "Are the helicopters ferrying survivors to emergency wards or bearing newscams to broadcast a spectacular accident...you never know anymore, the sound of choppers may be innocent but once bitten you never look at stray dogs the way you once did" (22). This quote shows Thomas' opinion that even though there may be nothing ominous about the sight of a helicopter or something of its equivelent, it is in our nature to fear the worst, particularly once we have experienced horror. Thomas also takes notice of how little anything changed after 9/11. He says "planes are flying in New York City's airspace again. A decision disrespectful of the 9/11 dead and dangerous for the living. Old flight paths resumed because they maximize fuel efficiency and profit. Business as usual" (29). This cynical example of how little we seem to learn from our mistakes shows Thomas' lack of faith that any real measures have been taken in providing any sort of safety. This idea of the difficulties in achieving change is probably one that will be repeated and the events of 9/11 may be foreshadowing of what is to come.

Bill Clinton #6

In this last section of Bill Clinton's "My Life", Clinton is now President and is hard at work creating new domestic policies and keeping up with America's foreign relations. High on his list of foreign priorities is helping the new president of Russia reestablish his country. Clinton wanted to go to Russia to meet with the president, Yeltslin, but felt that "Moscow shouldn't be my first foreign stop (as president)...but the United States had a big stake in Russia's success and we sure didn't want hard-liners, either Communists or ultranationalists in control there" (504). Clinton knew that the eyes of the world were upon him and if he slipped up, it could lead to terrible consequences like another mad-man running Russia. As a result of good policy and aid for Russia, "a large majority of Russian voters supported Yeltsin, his politics and his desire for a new Duma. After a little more then one hundred days in office, we had made great strides in bolstering Yeltsin and Russian democracy" (508). Through the actions of Clinton and other leaders of major countries, the Soviets were able to prop up a new system of government without great commotion.

When we come to the end of the first one hundred days of a new presidency, the media assesses it to see how the new president has done in terms of keeping thei campaign promises and rising to meet new challenges. On the positive side, Clinton had done lots of work on the economy doing things such as "put together an ambitious economic program to reverse twelve years of trickle-down economics...and to dramatically cut the cost of college loans, saving billions of doallars for both students and taxpayers" (513). One of Clinton's major campaign promises was to work to help the economy, which is something he certainly seemed to be doing. On the negative side, he "maintained the Bush policy of forcibly returning Haitian refugees...and failed to convince Europe in taking a stronger stand against the Bosnians" (514). As far as human rights went, Clinton's administration was having a tough time, particularly with the Bosnian-Serb conflict that eventually left 250,000 dead over two years. For the first one hundred days in office, Clinton had mixed reviews, but what could be seen was that he was doing his best.

Clinton Post #5.5 (Making up for a 1 paragraph post from earlier)

Just months after taking office, Clinton was confronted with a crisis in Waco, Texas. The FBI had been camped outside the compound of a group of members of a religious cult for almost two months. Clinton recieved a distressing report saying that the leader might be planning a mass suicide and the FBI wanted to storm the building but needed Clinton's okay first. Clinton, drawing from a similar experience he'd had as governor, wanted to try what had worked in Arkansas. His attorney general, Janet Reno, countered "that the standoff was costing the government a million dollars a week and tying up law-enforcement resources needed elsewhere; that the Branch Davidians could hold out longer than the Arkansas people had and that the possibilities of child sexual abuse and mass suicide were real" (498). Faced with these arguements, Clinton gave the go-ahead, even though it went against his instincts. The next day Clinton watched the compound burn on television as his actions killed 80 people. Clinton was infuriated at himself "for agreeing to the raid against my better judgement...Nobody can be right all the time, but it's a lot easier to live with bad decisions you believed in when you made them" (499). He had allowed himself to be talked out of something he thought would have worked and had ended up with fatal consequences. Clinton learned that in order to be an effective leader, he had to make his own choices and not allow himself to be overly influenced by other people's opinions.

Clinton #5

As the Democratic candidate for the presidency, Bill Clinton was now striving to prove to the public that he was their best choice to become president of the United States. In a number of debates Clinton backed his convictions against Ross Perot and George H. W. Bush. In a debate at Washington University, the candidates were asked to say why made them different then the others running. As responses to the question, "Ross said he was supported by the people, not parties or special interests... I said I represented change. The President said he had experience" (434). The fact that Clinton was eventually elected shows that the public was tired of conservative voices on the hill and desired change. The parallels to the recent election are also clear, even extending to the results. In the second debate, in Virginia, a town hall style debate helped to strongly set Clinton in the lead. A woman set a question to the three candidates about how the national debt had personally affected them. The answers she received were very enlightening. Perot answered first, saying that the debt forced him to "disrupt my private life and my business to get involved in this activity... strangly, Bush said he'd been to a black church and read in the bullitin about teen pregnancies... I said I'd been governor of a small state for twelve years. I knew people by name who had lost their jobs and businesses" (437). The out-of-touch responses from the other two candidates were clear to the public and a post-debate poll indicated 53% of 1,145 surveyed thought Clinton was the victor of the debate. Clinton's knowledge of the issues he and the American public faced helped him to win the votes he needed to succeed.

After winning the election, Clinton set to work on transitioning the cabinet and the white house. As the Democrats hadn't been in power for twelve years which meant a lot of work for Clinton. He writes that "we had to replace a lot of people, we were committed to casting a wide net for diversity, and there were a great number of people with a claim to be considered" (467). Clinton knew that the people he chose were going to have a large effect on the way the country would run for the next four years and he wanted to make sure that he got the best people for the jobs. In the end, there were some problems with his appointments but on the whole the transition went smoothly enough. Clinton summarized the results saying "we did a good job picking a cabinet and sub-cabinet officials who were able and reflected the diversity of America, but I made a mistake in not appointing a prominent Republican to a cabinet post" (466). Though he succeded in creating an ethically diverse team of individuals, a lack of political diversity conveyed a message to conservatives of lack of bi-partisanship that was not overly helpful to his presidency. A president can't do all the jobs that need to be done, so the people who help him must be skilled enough to aid him well and Clinton took great care in picking those he chose although in retrospect could have given more consideration to other factors when selecting his cabinet.

Bill Clinton #4

In this section of Bill Clinton's My Life, Clinton is now running for the nomination to become the candidate for the presidency. With the New Hampshire primaries approaching, a woman named Gennifer Flowers said that Clinton had carried on an affair for twelve years with her. In order to defend himself of these charges, Bill and Hillary Clinton accept an offer of a televised interview. Clinton writes that they "wanted to defend against the scandal coverage and get back to the real issue without demeaning ourselves and adding fuel to the fire" (385). This choice shows how Clinton addressed the ethical as well as social dilemma of answering personal questions truthfully but without compromising the support he needed. During the session, the interviewer asked Clinton if he'd had any affairs. Clinton responded that he "acknowledged causing pain in my marriage, that I had already said more about the subject then any other politician ever had and... the American people understood what I meant" (385). Clinton's response to the personal attacks shows thought about his actions as well as remorse and reflect his ethical beliefs.

As the New Hampshire primaries closed in, questions about Clinton's character were still being raised. In a speech in Dover, Clinton addresses these concerns by saying "I'll tell you what I think the character issue is: Who really cares about you? Who's really trying to say what he would do specifically if he was elected president? Who has a demonstrated record of doing what they're talking about?" (391). Bill Clinton knew that people were wary of him but despite this he met the allegations head on because he felt he was the best candidate for the job. Clinton's opponent, Paul Tsongas disgreed and while campaining in the Midwest, Tsongas questioned his character concerning the middle-class tax cut Clinton wanted to introduce. The attack did not seem to hurt Clinton's numbers, however, for on the next day "we won in Illinois, Hillary's home state, with 52 percent... and in Michigan with 49 percent" (397). The numbers dont lie and instead tell us that Clinton's character seemed to be good enough for the voters and was good enough to lead him to victory.

Bill Clinton #3

In this next section of Bill Clinton's life, Clinton is forced to make a decision that could impact not only his life but the lives of many others. In 1987, Ronald Reagen was about to leave office and the Democratic Party was getting ready for the primaries. Clinton had a lot of support around the country to try and run for President but he was conflicted over the issue. He writes that he "was holding back. I know I would be a good candidate but I wasn't sure I had lived long enough to aquire the wisdom and judgement necessary to becomes President" (333). Clinton knew that if he ran for President and got elected, the lives of his nation would be in his hands and he wasn't sure that he could shoulder all that responsibility yet. In the end, the deciding factor for him was his daughter, Chelsea. Clinton had been talking to a friend about making a decision when she asked where they were going for summer vacation, to which he responded "I might not be able to take one if I ran for President. Chelsea replied, 'Then Mom and I will go without you.' That did it" (334). At that moment, Clinton realized that the place he needed to be most right then was home with his family and that it was more important to him to watch his daughter grow up now then to run for an office that he wasn't sure he was ready for. Though many were disappointed by his choice, Clinton knew that he had made the right decision for his consituents, his nation and his family.