One of the most powerful and compelling books that I remember having to read in high school was The Man by Irving Wallace. The dramatic novel gives an inside look at the high stakes political action inside the Beltway. It is the story of Douglas Dilman, the first black man to become president, in this case through fluke in that the president is killed in a freak accident overseas while the vice presidency is vacant. Through the laws of succession Senator Dilman rises to the Oval Office.Being president is challenge enough, but being a black president in a highly bigoted culture is an even greater burden. And it isn't long before those who are out to get him set him up.
SPOILER ALERT
Much of the tension revolves around an incident in which Dilman is accused of assaulting a white woman. It's a setup job, but it shows the extremes to which the bad guys will go to get him out of office, to muffle his voice, to trash his character.
The media, too, get on board, relishing the opportunity to have a story. There are smears and sneers and jeers, and (I don't remember them but undoubtedly) a few tears.
Fast forward, 2010.
If WikiLeaks is not the biggest story of 2010, it certainly has to rank high on the list of big stories. I do not know enough about Julian Assange to call him good or evil and have not done my due diligence in dissecting the ethics of what he's been doing. I only know that when the latest charges were brought up, the allegations of rape, Irving Wallace's novel came to mind.
The irony is that as Assange brings to light documents that put our government officials in a bad light, journalists are shining a light on Assange that puts his own character in a bad light. At the end of the day one wonders, where are the heroes here? But then, as with President Dilman, what if there were no sex crimes committed at all?
These are high stakes games being played and who among us even knows what the truth is. Except that we know there's a lot of fog and obfuscation out there right now. White noise and a ball of confusion.
Just thinking out loud. What a long strange trip it's been.
