The Same Brand Of Tranquilliser

I joined the debate too late to make
an impression, it was a depressing
debate anyway, about whether or
whatever the morality of killing a
tyrant had as relevance for our
ersatz sense of societal values. To be
outraged was easy, all the signs said
so, and so we were irritated our better
judgement had been high-jacked by
late evening viewer ratings. I don’t
give a goddamn about dictators in
the Middle East as much as they have
the same feelings about me. In point
of fact they do a better job of being
dictators than I do of being irritated.
But being forced to view the worst case
of prurient interest news imaginable
couched with consensual intrigue and
slam-dunked into living rooms as a
matter of goodwill just about did it
for me. I need the same brand of
tranquilliser they gave Saddam.
© I.D. Carswell 2007