Insurmountable Opportunities

Michael Hirsh from Newsweek reports that, “Scott McClellan says, "History appears poised to confirm what most Americans today have decided—that the decision to invade Iraq was a serious strategic blunder. No one, including me, can know with absolute certainty how the war will be viewed decades from now when we can more fully understand its impact. What I do know is that war should only be waged when necessary, and the Iraq war was not necessary."”

“The question,” Hirsh goes on, “why do we have to hear this from him?”

My constant struggle is to understand the environment in which I am seeking evidence to make decisions. It is important to me, as a Christian, to weigh the evidence in any circumstance on the principles of Scripture and a biblical worldview. Then I believe I can make decisions and voice opinion and beliefs on the evidence. The more I trust the provider of the evidence and the more reliable his or her information the better I can make judgments. This is an on going cognitive rehearsal.

So the question, “Why do we have to hear this from him?”, “him”, being Scott McClellan. We need to hear because his story has changed. A story rehearsed day in and day out for the time he served the President has changed. What then is the truth?

“History appears poised to confirm,” very powerful words and the beginning of a new story. Why does he say this?

The very “famous” Mike Barnicle of Boston says, “It is payback.” McClellan was used and abused and he owes “pay back”!!

The Washington Post reports, “The scales dropped from his eyes, leading him to write a book that accuses his former boss.” “Over time, as you leave the White House and leave the bubble, you're able to take off your partisan hat and take a clear-eyed look at things." "I was caught up in the Washington game, just like everybody else," The scales dropped from his eyes!!

Hirsch says, “Scott McClellan seems to have undergone a genuine reckoning with himself, one that has eluded many of the lords of the media. In the opening words of his book McClellan notes that carved above the south entrance to the tower at the University of Texas—where McClellan went as an undergraduate and where his grandfather was dean of the law school—is a quote from the Gospel of John: "Ye shall know the truth and the truth shall set you free." McClellan writes of those famous words: "Not until the past few years have I come to truly appreciate their message. Perhaps God's greatest gift to us in life is the ability to learn from our experiences, especially our mistakes, and grow into better people." Hirsch again, “Better pundits, perhaps, are too much to ask for.”

So in my struggle to know the truth I am again caught up in the "spin and political manipulation".

I wonder, should I listen to the words of the “great theologian” of the 1960’s, Pogo, who said,
“We are confronted with insurmountable opportunities.” Walt Kelly “ It must be that Mr. McClellan is confronted with insurmountable opportunities. How awesome!!!

I still struggle and will continue to do so. I seek to be honorable and honoring to my Lord. Am I to believe we are in a “war of choice” or a “just war”?

“So Jesus said to the Jews who believed in Him, “If you live in accordance with what I teach, you are really my disciples, and you will know the truth and the truth will set you free.”
John 8:31-32 Williams Translation

The U.S. death toll in Iraq in April 2006 was 71.

Let the conversation continue.