The “Left/Right” metaphor, in general, makes me crazy. It’s much too simplistic to say that the sum total of political perspectives can be contained in one spectrum.
So from now on, rather than Left(tm) or Right(tm), I say I am Bottom.
And there is growing evidence that Bottom-Up (as opposed to Top-Down hierarchical) power may be gaining momentum.
For example, the Official 9/11 Commission Report(tm) basically blames widespread incompetence, countless individual breakdowns on a systematic level, hundreds or thousands of unnamed underlings “dropping the ball,” which had the cumulative result of failing to stop 9/11. This is a bottom-up explanation. According to this theory, these mistakes, these power gaps, these negative assertions of power, flowed from the bottom of the hierarchy up. None of those at the top of the hierarchy is responsible.
I find it very interesting that this is an example of the Top recognizing that the Bottom has the power to shake the very foundations of society. And when framed in this manner, most people accept that the Bottom has enough power to cause something as dramatic and history-changing as 9/11.
Though I appreciate this admission from the 9/11 Commission (et al), I must point out that their example is nonsense. Bottom-up power, while considerable, is almost never directed toward tragic or warlike ends. This is clearly a Top-Down event being blamed on Bottom-Up power.
The New Pearl Harbor
I just finished reading The New Pearl Harbor. It’s a fantastic piece of work, a thorough yet somehow concise overview of the myriad of Grassy Knolls and Schoolbook Depositories of 9/11. It’s important enough that I think everyone should read it. Yet I can’t say I agree with his conclusion, which is basically that there needs to be an honest, official investigation. My prime objective is that this cannot be implemented by the US government, and I don’t see the US opening such a massive criminal investigation to an independent body; they don’t after all seem to cooperate much with bodies like the International Courts or the United Nations.
Obviously, I think much more than an investigation is needed. A real assertion of Bottom-Up power is more in order.