Dub Steps
In his essay citing recent works that explore the life of George W. Bush and family [“Miss Him Yet?,” October 2020], SMU history professor Andrew R. Graybill shows no interest in primary sources about a subject he professes to know a lot about. Citing various books and a documentary, he quotes journalists, talking heads, and a novelist about the Iraq “debacle” and the “false pretexts” that sent the country to war. None of these sources had direct experience. Yet, when he had the opportunity to take in firsthand accounts of soldiers who actually fought in the war, which accompanied their portraits, painted by the president who made the decision to send them, Graybill didn’t find time to see the exhibit. “Portraits of Courage,” on display at the university’s George W. Bush Library for seven months, wasn’t worth a walk across campus to the professor because it “aroused a state of cognitive dissonance in [him].” Can these be the words of a serious educator?