In this earlier piece for the Guardian, Armstrong applies the Sophoclean version of the Oedipus story to current problems in foreign policy and religion:
"Despite his reputation for vision (oidos), Oedipus had been blind to basic realities of his identity. All his life, he had tried to act rightly and find the truth, but it eluded him and, through no fault of his, he had brought pestilence upon his city."
Oedipus was too sure of himself, in other words, like many of our political and religious leaders today.
Like Sophocles, Armstrong urges us to seek "alternative" narratives:
"But Sophocles's Oedipus story reminds us that there was never a single version of a myth. As we listen to the antithetical mythologies that tear our world apart, we need to be receptive to the counter-narrative that opposes our point of view and expresses the 'other' perspective."
It's doubtful that George W. Bush --or Osama bin Laden-- will rise to Oedipal awareness. It's unlikely that either will "gouge out" his eyes when they discover how wrong they have been, how "blind" they have been to other perspectives.
And therein lies the problem. In politics, we revere resolve, no matter how simple-minded. To his admirers --35 to 40 percent of voters-- Bush is a strong leader for the very qualities which inevitably lead to tragic ends. Like Oedipus, Bush's blind pursuit of his vision of justice will bring --indeed has brung--"pestilence" upon the world.
The real tragedy is that Bush, unlike Oedipus, will never become a tragic hero.
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