Shoot the Hostage

In real life, things aren't that easy.

In real life, shooting the hostage isn't a particularly good idea. I’m just sayin'. However, the president and supporters of his economic policy seem to think that's exactly what ought to happen.

Hearkening back to the 1994 movie Speed, you'll recall that when faced with a seemingly impossible situation, Jack (Keanu Reeves) shoots fellow good guy Harry (Jeff Daniels) in the leg, effectively taking the hostage out of the equation while dealing with the villain played by Dennis Hopper. It appears gloriously brilliant in the movie, but all the annoying complexities of real life make it a reckless and likely ineffective strategy.

President Obama is certainly faced with a seemingly impossible situation; there's no way around it. However, his approach has already proven to be ineffective, not only in his prior attempts but also those of previous administrations. It would be synonymous with Jack trying to shoot the hostage in previous encounters, finding that neither his nor his predecessors' similar attempts ever proved to be fruitful in such a situation, yet at that moment he still thinks it's a good idea. Maybe this time it will work.

Even in the movie, Hopper gets away and wreaks more havoc later, yet the decision to shoot the hostage still appears quite daring and heroic. America is being held hostage by rising debt and a federal government that is growing in size and cost but not effectiveness. The president already shot the hostage, a couple of times, yet these United States are still in the grip of a villain who continues to wreak havoc. Everybody wants to be a hero; I get it. But what works for an action movie hero seldom works for a statesman (I write 'statesman' while fantasizing how wonderful it would be if we had a few of those).

In an ideal world there would be no hostages; however, we live in a real one. It would be nice if Washington stared to realize that.

© the stiff lizard