One hundred and twenty five years ago, in 1882, the Norwegian
playwright Henrik Ibsen presented the first performance of his
play, An Enemy of the People.
Like many of Ibsen's plays, this play is a social commentary, a
piece of literature that in addition to providing a window into
human character also defines both individuals and society in
sociopolitical terms.
The central character is Doctor Thomas Stockmann, the Medical
Officer of the municipal baths of a town whose healing waters
bring droves of tourists from many countries, the tourists
providing the main source of income for the town.
The second half of the 19th century was a time in Europe when
many people who could afford to travel believed that various
springs, waters, baths, and spas could not only heal various
chronic illnesses but also prolong life. Some of these baths and
spas, like Baden-Baden in Germany, brought great profit to the
local people, and before long famous hotels and gambling casinos
were built at these places, with the expected message, "Come,
soak in our spa, cure your ills, prolong your life, and in the
evening amuse yourself in our casino. It's time to pamper
yourself!" The rich, of course, came in droves, one season after
another, and soon they came merely because it was the thing to
do. No one had any evidence the spas did much to cure disease or
prolong life.
So when in Ibsen's play Doctor Thomas Stockmann discovers the
healing waters in his town are polluted, causing typhoid fever
and various gastric illnesses to unsuspecting tourists, he has
himself a major problem. The fundamental cause of his problem is
that he's an honest man, and as an honest man what he does is
announce to the town's establishment that the so-called "healing"
waters of the town are actually poisoning the tourists who come
to be healed.
As you can guess, what happens is the people of the town rise up
and call Doctor Stockmann "an enemy of the people" -- the people
being the people of the town, including his own brother, who
happens to be the Mayor and who says the hell with the tourists,
we need their money.
If you want to know what happens, read the play. It's rare to
find it on stage in America, even a modernized version, maybe
because of anxieties it might produce in certain localities
economically dependent on surrounding industries.
My focus here is on something else. I'm interested in the phrase
"an enemy of the people" -- and how its equivalent is often used
by smug Republicans who think their Faustian arrangements are
known only to themselves and the Shadow or Darth Vader or that
fellow who cackles in Hell while he swishes his tail.
The loudest voices against Doctor Thomas Stockmann were
themselves the real enemies of the people.
The hawk Republican mantra these days is that anyone who
criticizes the Bush-Cheney-Halliburton Iraq fiasco War of Lies is
an enemy of the people. These chest-beaters tell us we mustn't
send the "wrong message" -- as if the crazy but clever jihadists
who want to kill us don't read American newspapers, magazines,
and websites word by word. We don't need to send jihadists any
messages: they already know what's going on here. They already
know when an American politician is talking out of the side of
his mouth with one hand behind his back and his palm open.
The people of America do have foreign enemies, but they also have
domestic enemies, people elected or appointed to public office to
work for the public good but who work instead for some private
benefit.
So the question is: Who are the real domestic enemies of the
American people? Is it Senator Webb or President Bush? Is it John
Murtha or Dick Cheney? Is it the West Virginia miner who has sons
getting killed in Iraq or is it the millionaire who says his five
sons are doing their share by helping him become president?
Who are the enemies of the people? Maybe it's time for us to
understand that we need to know who they are. Do you have an
Enemies of the People list? Maybe it's time to think about this
and talk about it.
Democracy rests on a premise of an enlightened electorate. So
let's enlighten each other.