Sunday is traditionally a day for DIY and reflection. I’ve done the DIY for today, so now it’s time for some reflection. As Barack Obama is sworn in1, our media overlords are in reflective mood as well, but often not for the better. Witness David Ignatius at the Washington Post:
Journalists probably shouldn’t have heroes, but [Ryan] Crocker is one of mine. We first met in 1981 in Lebanon, and I’ve watched over the years as he took on the toughest challenges in the Foreign Service and became a superstar diplomat without ever losing his mordant sense of humor or his determination to speak truth to power.
All fairly innocuous stuff, except for that last part about Crocker having the determination “to speak truth to power”. I know that this is a much over-used phrase, despite which most people who use it are unaware of its Quaker roots. Ryan Crocker is a living, breathing example of that “power”, and the “truth” refers to the pacifism of the Quaker faith.2 Later in the piece:
The key to success in Iraq, insists Crocker, was the psychological impact of Bush’s decision to add troops.
Ignatius couldn’t have found a more inappropriate use for the phrase if he had tried.