© Merle Harton, Jr. | About | XML/RSS

I burned my eyes watching the President speak.  Tonight I watched and listened to the President speak to the nation about the State of the Union—but I don't know why I did it. Here's my concern: Years ago I happened to watch a television interview in prison with Charles Manson. I wish I could find the transcript, but I don't remember who the interviewer was. I'm sure it wasn't Tom Snyder, Charlie Rose, or Geraldo, among the more famous of the interviews, and I only recall this single memorable interchange. Manson responds to a question by the interviewer and is confronted with disbelief; so Manson basically tells the interviewer something to the effect that he shouldn't ask him any questions if he thinks that he's going to lie to him. What's the point? And so my point is that, while I shouldn't have been watching an interview with Charles Manson, I also shouldn't have been watching the President's State of the Union address. We know that this president is a liar. How can I expect that he is going to speak truthfully, or sincerely, or even with good intentions?

Maybe I watched the State of the Union address for the same reason I might witness an auto accident. I could avert my eyes, but still something lures me to look at it. The ancient Greeks had a term for it: akrasia, or moral weakness. I'm so ashamed.