Outside View: To Serve Man

Posted on: Sunday, June 6th, 2004 by Cheryl Felicia Rhoads

By Cheryl Felicia Rhoads HOLLYWOOD, June 3 (UPI) -- Those who claim to serve their fellow man have a responsibility to proceed with caution during times of great peril. In conducting the national debate on the war in a shrill and reckless tone, Sen. Ted Kennedy, D-Mass., and other critics of the Bush administration are aiding and abetting our enemies. Kennedy, whose own personal history is questionable at best, has spewed moralistically that, "We now learn that Saddam's torture chambers reopened under new management, U.S. management." This is but the latest in a string of hysterical statements leveled at the current administration. It is never necessary for a person of goodwill to recklessly impugn the motives of those who disagree simply because one might see things in a different light. But are the Bush haters of good will? Do they serve others or are they serving their own egos and need to be right? In being bombarded with Kennedy's relentless pomposity, along with that of his protégé, Sen. John F. Kerry, D-Mass., and many in the media, I am reminded of a fictional character portrayed by actor, Hart Bochner in the first "Diehard" film in 1988. Bochner's character in the film, is an opportunist who claims to know how best to deal with terrorists who have captured his office building. He befriends them, offering himself as the alternative to dealing with a rogue cop played by Bruce Willis. Willis is even scornfully called a lone cowboy. The terrorists are quietly amused. They use the Bochner character for their own ends. And then they kill him. So much for appeasement. Thankfully, the film's hero, played by Willis, maneuvers many such harrowing obstacles, even running barefoot across broken glass, before he saves the day. I'm certain President Bush can relate to "Diehard" with regard to his current nemeses. He needs to keep running the country and this necessary war in spite of his political foes' sharp words. I discovered, in a bit of wonderful irony, that "Diehard's" Bochner is the son of another actor known for playing sophisticated know-it-all types, Lloyd Bochner, whose most famous role may be that of Mr. Chambers in an episode of the immortal "Twilight Zone" television series. In that story, aliens come to earth promising cure for disease and agricultural plenty, as long as mankind agrees to disarm itself. Unlike the character played by his son in "Diehard," the elder Bochner's character survives long enough to relate a cautionary tale. He aligned himself with the aliens when they arrived with a seemingly benevolent book, the title of which, "To Serve Man," gives the episode its name. The book turns out to be, not a gift, but a cookbook. Too late, the doomed narrator realizes that everyone on Earth is on the menu. It's serendipitous that in two of my favorite fictional examples of elitists getting hoisted on their own petards are played by father and son actors. Both Bochners play to perfection those with pretentious worldviews that play into the hands of their enemies. The Bochners, however, only portrayed fools. Kennedy, Kerry and the other elitists hold the attention of the world stage. Does this mean one can't ever question a wartime president? Of course, not. However, the tone and timing of a debate dictates whether one is wise enough to decipher true danger. The Bochners' fictional characters discovered in both of their scripts that due to their pride in their sophistication, they were destroyed by evil. Ultimately, both characters die hard. In real life, today's elitists serve terrorists with wild accusations and their Bush-hatred. By their demagoguery and sanctimonious tone, they are in fact boosting al-Qaida's morale and therefore their cause. If they don't rethink their strategy for discourse, they may find that many of us will join Nick Berg and Daniel Pearl in their horror. The left is serving up a recipe for disaster from a most dangerous cookbook, indeed. (Cheryl Felicia Rhoads is an actress and writer who lives in Hollywood.)

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Articles by Cheryl Felicia Rhoads

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