Arafat, Frankel & Dean
One moment frozen in my mind goes back to when Yasser Arafat and his followers were surrounded by Israeli forces. They found themselves without any means to escape. The Israelis could have finished them easily off but gave them the chance to pack it in and go to exile in Tunis. What they did with this deal was memorable.
As the trucks wheeled them away protected by our forces, the defeated Palestinians acted as though they were the victors: smiling, cheering, and pumping their arms. While it was clear to the world they had lost their war and had been spared, they turned it into their own victory parade. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yasser_Arafat
Year later, I learned about Victor Frankel’s famous research with Holocaust survivors. He reasoned the last freedom a man has is the right to control his state of mind under any circumstance. It proved itself to be true as illustrated by Arafat, et al.
Tonight, I watched Scott Brown do the seemingly unlikely. As a Republican, he won a US Senate seat in the hotbed of liberal Democratic Massachusetts. Brown has a right to celebrate. He has no need to control his state of mind; he can just let it all hang out.
But what about the folks who lost a lot with this race: the beltway Democrats. They’ve lost their magic sixty automatic votes in the US Senate for what ever they want.
On the cable new shows, they’re saying nice things about the victor. I know all this is window dressing. Tomorrow they’ll savage the poor schlub for the conservative he is.
I couldn’t believe the one statement Howard Dean made though. He said this is a welcomed moment in that now they can revamp the health care bill in a way to get it passed.
I think Dr. Dean studied Professor Frankel’s writings.