According to the book by Tom Wolfe, the right staff is the human who will be able to stay human in any situation. Thus, the brightest examples of the book – the astronauts could stay noble, courageous, and wit in any difficult situation. (Santy, 1994) Unfortunately, most politics and people who rule the countries (or even separate spheres of the state activity) are often not able to simply clearly reply to the question that they have been asked. As for the current president of the United States of America George Bush, it is a very arguable question if he may be called the true human, or the Right Stuff, as it has been suggested. On the one hand, he is the president of one of the Superstates. As a personality, he had achieved the greatest ever success in life, as the position higher may be only dreamt of. He had made the long way in his life, set up the goal to become a president, and reached it. (Shomette, 1992)
But on the other hand, the man who on the serious summits and conferences muddles up the left and right hands (such as after the Australian summit of the heads of the states), or whose nonsense is collected by the people all over the world can not be regarded as the right staff. The fact is that all this nonsense is told just because the said words are not thought over. To muddle up the names of the two countries and call the Australian Prime Minister Austrian is the top of ignorance. In order not to be unfounded the h-ref for the photo is offered. It is necessary to add, that the whole world knows about such collisions, only the mass media of the United States of America conceal them. The anecdote about “the other right hand” has been told by the world internet users for at least two months, and nobody regards this photo as a photomontage.
To continue the discussion on the issues of the Right Stuff, I would like to mention, that the people who often can be regarded so are usually not so well known, but they are the heroes or just people who help others free. These are the pace-makers, who despite the difficulties and troubles.
The main fact that can be necessarily mentioned, is that it is rather hard for the politician to become the right staff according to the descriptions by Tom Wolfe, as during staying on the position of the president, or minister, or just head of some administration, people are obliged to act representing the state interests, and the exceptions are as rare, like snow in Sahara.
Regarding George Bush as the candidate to be the right stuff, the essential fact that needs to be mentioned, is that in spite he had achieved such huge success, his father had previously been the president of the United States, and most helped at least by sharing experience and some secrets. This in no way adds reputation to G. Bush Jr., as to keep to the beaten track is much easier than go one’s way.
Another fact that needs to be regarded here is that Chris Warren and Steve Eblin, the two talented performers, created the on-stage comedy which is called “The Right Staff”, with George Bush as the main character. It may seem ridiculous, but such coincidences never appear accidentally. It is said, that the president will never be regarded as the true human, as chasing the interests of the country he rules, Mr. Bush tries to cover it with the norms of democracy and international law (Odom, 2004). The comedy shows the absolute inexpediency of sending the troops to Iraq, authors in some measure try to blame Mr. Bush for the attempt at the location of the missile complexes in Europe, which could lead to another period of the cold war and arms race.
Minnesota daily emphasizes that such right-wing comedians lower the president’s reputation, but the critiques believe, that these are not comedies, but the actions of the president lower his reputation among people.
Getting back to “the right Stuff” by Tom Wolfe, it is necessary to outline the criteria, according to which all the judgments of the current essay. So, the Right Stuff people must be brave, courageous, and sympathetic. The list is not full, as in various situations different features are required. Some people would add sharp-mindedness in order the personality was favorite among other people. Some would add the enterprise – or the ability to be in the necessary place at the necessary time. But as far as I can judge, the main has been named, as exactly these features are considered to be the most precious.
References
Australian Summit. 2007. Web.
Odom, Hayley “Right-wing comedians perform at Coffman”2004. The Minnesota Daily. Web.
Shomette, Doug, ed. The Critical Response to Tom Wolfe. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 1992.
Santy, Patricia A. Choosing the Right Stuff: The Psychological Selection of Astronauts and Cosmonauts. Westport, CT: Praeger Publishers, 1994.