We in the West are supposed to adhere to certain rules so we "won't be like them." But if the other side adheres to no rules and sees our standards as a form of weakness, such things are counter-productive to our objectives. It is not coincidental that the trailer for the new season of the TV series "24" features Jack Bauer testifying before a congressional committee on the subject of torture. Bauer is asked if he defends torture and responds that if it is needed to save lives, he will use it.No, you're right, Cal; it's not coincidental. The reason why Jack Bauer says that in the trailer is that the writers made him say it in order to appeal to the show's fans, like, I guess, you. It sells soap, as the old saying goes. But it's not proof of anything. It's an effect of what the show's viewers expect to hear, nothing more than that.
I mean, crap, if we're going to take 24 as proof of how the real world works, maybe we can extend the idea a bit further. Maybe we can use The X-Files as proof of extraterrestrial life. And hey, surely it's "not coincidental" that Rupert Giles from Buffy the Vampire Slayer says that the world used to be a demon dimension until humans kicked all the demons out (Giles is after all a scholar and should know what he's talking about). Or, I know, maybe CSI: Miami constitutes proof that forensics works best when you've got whopping big holes in your logic and you take off your sunglasses a lot. And maybe Animaniacs showed us that chickens can disguise themselves as action heroes, cats sing like Bernadette Peters, and minks are teh hawt. After all, why not? None of that is any less real than 24.
Cross-posted at The Vanity Press.
Update: Welcome, Wolcott readers!
