Every language I know or heard about has a saying that matches the English: “Once bitten twice shy.” For example, translated into English, the Egyptian version goes like this: “He who gets bitten by a snake fears the rope.” Of course, the level of shyness in the English saying, and the level of fear in the Egyptian version vary from one individual to another, but the idea is there.
These sayings do
more than express an observation seen by different people in different parts of
the world. They carry within them a package of wisdoms that need to be
understood to be beneficial. One such wisdom can be expressed as follows: If
someone deceives you once, be wary of him lest he deceive you again.
We are lucky
that Clifford D. May gave us an example of the kind of deception that causes
even the most seasoned of politicians to swallow his false presentations hook,
line and sinker. May did all that in an article that came under the title: “The
problem with tyrants like Kim Jong-un and Vladimir Putin,” and the subtitle:
“They’re not like us.” The article was published on October 4, 2022 in The
Washington Times.
The following is
a condensed version of the excerpts showing how Clifford May juggles ideas in a
repeated sleights of hand that dazzle the readers while giving the writer the
opportunity to convince the unwary that down is up, left is right and the sun
rises from the West. Here is that passage:
“We’re inclined to believe that those who rule nations are not different
from us. Does the evidence support this belief? I don’t think so. Recall Donald
Trump’s approach to Kim Jong-un. He told the North Korean [leader,]
if he’d adopt more moderate policies, he could have ‘prosperity
like he has never seen’ and become ‘the hero
of his people.’ Mr. Trump communicated, too, that if Mr.
Kim declined this offer, he might find American missiles raining down
on his head. Wouldn’t you have been tempted by that carrot and
frightened by that stick? Sure. But Mr. Kim is not like you. Similarly,
President Barack Obama offered Iran’s theocrats respect, power and lucre. He
asked only that they pledge to delay — not end — their nuclear weapons program.
He didn’t understand that, for Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, ‘Death to Israel!’
and ‘Death to America!’ are not slogans but the goals of the revolution. He
will do whatever is necessary to achieve these goals — including, at this
moment, murdering, torturing and imprisoning Iranian women”.
Let’s analyze that
passage:
Sleight of
hand # 1: Clifford May says
that Kim Jong-un is not like us because he did not accept the Donald Trump
offer to become prosperous, and did not tremble in his boots when the former
President warned that declining his offer could result in American missiles
raining down on his (Kim’s) head.
Whereas this
formulation is an exact replica of what May has written, it will cause the
readers to react differently. This version will prompt the readers to say:
“Some foreigners are so principled, they don’t hunger for the carrots of
idiots, and don’t fear the sticks of jokers. We wish we had some of them in our
Congress; people who would raise our profile a few notches in world forums”.
But when
Clifford May asked the rhetorical question: “Wouldn’t you have been tempted by that
carrot and frightened by that stick? Sure. But Mr. Kim is not like you,” he
asserted to the politicians that they should feel comfortable living in the
unprincipled state of being tempted by the bribes, and frightened by the
warnings that will most surely shadow them throughout their political careers.
Sleight of
hand # 2: In starting this
part of the discussion using the word “Similarly,” the writer instructs the
readers to maintain the frame of mind that keeps them trapped in a reality
which exits only because enough dupes believe in it, and respond to its demands.
Thus, while ignoring that the slogans “Death to Israel” and “Death to America”
are chanted by the kids of Iran—not the leaders of that country—in response to
what the leaders of Israel and America blather when they say: “All options are
on the table,” Clifford May slyly advances the notion that the leaders of Iran
wish to kill all the women of the country. And of course you can’t expect May
to explain what the Iranians have in mind when it comes to reproducing
themselves after killing all their women.
Now that he believes he has you – and has those you elect to be your
leaders – in his pocket, Clifford May feels confident playing the political
card. Here is how he did that:
“He [Putin] recited the standard leftist dogma about slavery, genocide,
Western racists, the American neocolonial system, totalitarianism despotism,
and apartheid. For good measure, he threw in the plunder of India, of
Africa, the wars of England and France against China. He said the US
occupies Germany, Japan and South Korea. I understand the desire, on both the
left and the right, for a diplomatic solution. I understand why many people
believe that Mr. Putin must want an offramp — because that’s what they’d
want if they were in his place”.
In saying “Many people believe that Putin wants an offramp” having said that
they are not like him, Clifford May has thrown cold water on his entire theory.