The poem of someone who became a politician... Donald Rumsfeld

[Longasc]

The Unknown

As we know,
There are known knowns.
There are things we know we know.
We also know
There are known unknowns.
That is to say
We know there are some things
We do not know.
But there are also unknown unknowns,
The ones we don't know
We don't know.

by Donald Rumsfeld
12. Februar 2002, Pressekonferenz des Verteidigungsministers der USA

http://ejournal.thing.at/LitPrim/rumsfeld.html


Well, it shares many principles of lyrics, but says basically nothing. STILL, it qualifies as a true poem - or not?

Feel free to discuss!

But I must say, like many other politicians, particularly a former failed painter from Austria, this guy would better have become a bad artist/poet, than a politician who can seriously hurt more people in his position that with his art.

 

[SeleucusNicator]

There is a book you can buy here that has dozens of Rumsfeld's public statements formatted into poems.

 

[rbis4rbb]

Sorry, but thats one of those avant-garde-I-must-be-too-stupid-to-understand poems

 

[Longasc]

Uh Seleucus, thanks, but I still prefer Heinrich Heine. One of the few poets that I actually accept and value highly, I am quite ignorant in this regard.

 

[Longasc]

rbis4bb, you are right, it is stupidity transformed into the form of a poem. But surprisingly, it is not that stupid - it has more meaning than some modern poems.

It has rhythm, repetition, and one might even imagine a deeper sense. The stupid thing is, he said this as an answer on a press conference. Not so elaborate, they did some editing, but basically, the world lost a poet in Rumsfeld.

In which German / American / International Era of poetry could we put Donald Rumsfeld?

What do you think?

 

[SeleucusNicator]

Update: the Rumsfeld poetry book can be found here:

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/t...103-1359077-7815800?v=glance&s=books&n=507846

 

[cgannon64]

That poem says something. Its just really inarticulate. Which I suppose is a class of poetry.

 

[BasketCase]

I hate poetry, and even I got it.

Is this actually a poetry thread, or is it a Rumsfeld punching-bag session?

 

[The Last Conformist]

I never got what was funny about that one.

 

[Marla_Singer]

Well, Rumsfeld isn't really good to express his ideas... and in here the message is rather empty. Globally, "known unknowns" are certainly facts which are probable but not sure ; and "unknown unknowns" are certainly the absolute uncertainty, meaning things we don't even think about but which would finally surge one day without even expecting it could happen.

Well, this remains an empty comment.


I like this quote from Rumsfeld because it pictures well how lame has been Washington to convince the world about the potential danger of Saddam. Actually, I wonder how Americans have been enough gullible to trust an administration talking this way. That simply proves how disdainful was Washington when its aim was actually to invade a country... and a country cannot be summarized to a dictator. Two years after, I *hope* few people realized it.

 

[BasketCase]

Yep. Punching bag.

 

[Marla_Singer]

Yep. Punching bag.

Basketcase, for once, stop to think as if you were part of a team America you would be supposed to support simply because "it's you" and face the facts.

You know, many bs have been said by other people. Chirac has been a real jerk the day he asked to Eastern European countries to shut up. He has proven in saying so that he didn't realize the strategic importance of Central and Eastern European countries. Well, fortunately, he has changed a bit his views about this, something Rumsfeld didn't, but such a comment has still really not been helpful at all.

 

[BasketCase]

Marla, you have no right to tell me what or how to think.

Must have been a real bummer when you were forced to move from Grobb to Neriak.

 

[storealex]

I like this one better:

You know, it's the old glass box at the—
At the gas station,
Where you're using those little things
Trying to pick up the prize,
And you can't find it.
It's—

And it's all these arms are going down in there,
And so you keep dropping it
And picking it up again and moving it,
But—

Some of you are probably too young to remember those—
Those glass boxes,
But—

But they used to have them
At all the gas stations
When I was a kid.

—Dec. 6, 2001, Department of Defense news briefing

Was he drunk or what?

 

[Jawz II]

that poem dose say something, but to me its like, yeah, and...?

what he said in that poem is really obvious to most people isnt it?

 

[Hakim]

The poetry of Donald rumsfeld, set to music

 

[nonconformist]

Marla, you have no right to tell me what or how to think.

Must have been a real bummer when you were forced to move from Grobb to Neriak.

What the flux are you on about?

 

[Erik Mesoy]

Agreed- what the spoon is Basket thinking?

 

[Longasc]

Well, basically there was a debate about the differences between a lyrical and a narrative text at the university.

A classical baroque poem was compared to a much more modern one from Brecht.
Then some said, that Brecht is not that good, and I am no fan of him either. But I explained that according to this and that, this is clearly a poem.

Then someone threw in "The Unknown" by an unknown author.

After a short analysis, I declared this babble to be a poem. They really made fun of me for declaring Donald Rumsfeld a poet by accident, yet clearly this nonsense has characteristics of a poem...

This thread is not about bashing Rumsfeld. Nor about discussing American politics.

But if we do a little bit psychoanalysis, it is interesting what some posters interpreted into this thread.

 

[AceChilla]

The poetry of Donald rumsfeld, set to music

That's just awesome.

I find this poem very deep and intelligent and don't understand why people make fun of it, it's so true!!