Why “Spidey” Musical Is Like Iraq
It’s taken me a while (mostly because I’ve been trying to keep LW free of the subject), but I’ve realized that the rationale for continuing the Broadway agony known as “Spider-Man” is similar to the rationale for continuing the funding for America’s wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Once you’ve convinced yourself that your initial investment in disaster was sensible, you have to continue to justify that initial “reasoning” by keeping the pipeline open. Yesterday in Congress, most Republicans and some Democrats opposed a troop withdrawal in Afghanistan, even though Rep. Dennis J. Kucinich, who put forward the measure, predicted that if troops were not pulled out immediately, the war would last until 2020 and cost an additional $1 trillion. Whether on Broadway or in Congress, the madmen have to keep convincing themselves that victory is in sight, even as it recedes further from view.
