The Sufferable Ass

I’m a little behind on this, but I wanted to mark this special commentary from Keith Olbermann, given on 9/11/2006 in front of the former site of the Twin Towers. It is a powerful monologue; take a few minutes to watch.

Path to 9/11 is an ABC miniseries airing tonight and tomorrow and billed as a docudrama based on the 9/11 Commission Report. The series has been reported to contain scenes that are inaccurate and misleading, and has prompted an outcry from liberal (and even some conservative) bloggers and commenters. Many prominent public figures have spoken out against the film, including Bill Clinton, Richard Clarke, and the film’s star Harvey Keitel. One former FBI agent refused to work on the film as an advisor once he had read the script, and another quit when the producers failed to correct a list of inaccuracies.

The program was written and directed by a pair with strong ties to the right wing. ABC has actively reached out to the right wing in order to drum up support for the program. The movie will be shown around the world, and ABC had made a deal with Scholastic, Inc., to distribute the series to schools along with a companion guide pointing up the supposed documentary aspects of the movie (Scholastic has since altered the guide to focus on media literacy).

Although ABC has made review copies of the series available only to right-wing bloggers and commentators, AmericaBlog has obtained a preview and has found that:

• The movie falsely identifies American Airlines as the carrier that let Mohamed Atta on board despite a security warning. The movie also puts the event at the wrong airport. The airport was in Portland, Maine, and Atta boarded a US Airways flight (facts contained on Page 1 of the 9/11 Commission Report!).


• The movie contains a scene of a Talibani firing bullets at the projected image of President Clinton’s head.


• The movie contains a scene where Clinton’s National Security Advisor Sandy Berger refuses to give the CIA permission to kill Usama bin Laden, even though an agent has bin Laden in his crosshairs. This event never happened.


• The movie even misspells Madeleine Albright’s name.

Everyone speaks – at the minimum – one percent of truth.
No matter what anyone tells you, at least one percent of it is true. No matter if it’s coming from your worst enemy, or the biggest idiot you know, if you listen closely and carefully, you will be able to uncover a grain of truth in any statement.

Knowing that this rule is true forces you to pay attention to what a person is telling you, to listen deeply and attentively to even the most hostile or manipulative of interlocutors. Because whatever they say will hold truth for you, an opportunity to learn and grow, and you must never miss a moment to hear it.

In practicing this rule, I have come to understand that truth is not binary. Rarely are statements either totally false or totally true. There is always nuance. Truth is like the volume dial on your stereo; it can be all the way down at one percent (barely audible, but still there) or full blast or anywhere in between.

Acknowledging the small grain of truth in what others are saying is a vital step in gaining inner wisdom, and to keep from killing everyone you come in contact with.