O’Farrell is at his most convincing and also most humorous in the essays related to the Iraq war. Although written in 2002, “Weapons of Mass Distraction” comes close to predicting the now famous “weapons of mass destruction related program activities” quote by mocking, “They have found paper cups of a type that would be used to refresh workers making weapons of mass destruction . . . and a keyboard that could be used to type the letters “B-O-M-B.” The Political motives of George W. Bush and Tony Blair’s willingness to unflinchingly aid those motives are detailed in “Election Battle” where it is cynically suggested, “So wouldn’t it be safer and far more honest if our boys were simply deployed in the key marginal states across the pond to go canvassing for the U.S. Republican Party . . . Of course we would all prefer it if the delivery of U.S. Republican Party leaflets could be done by the whole of the United Nations working together.” The U.S. disregard for the United Nations and willingness to act unilaterally are hilariously recounted in “Free Market Forces.”
Explaining that other international bodies such as FIFA could be next when, “American teams have repeatedly been denied the freedom to field a team reflecting superior U.S. economic and military strength. Like the UN, FIFA cannot be permitted to dictate the rules of engagement where American participants are involved and English president Toby Blare [sic] has promised he will back a rule change permitting a quarter of a million U.S. soccer players on the field at any one time.”
Global Village Idiot is not a fall down funny collection of essays but that is not its purpose. John O’Farrell is first and foremost a political columnist who is sincerely expressing his beliefs and opinions. Essays in which in their original publication in the Guardian were meant to get British readers to become more cognizant of the political issues surrounding them. In their American reprinting they are meant to provide the American reader with some notion of how we are viewed by the outside or at least British world. However, the essays are humorous and make it feel much less like you are being preached at and more like you are sharing a disdain for the current political climate with a friend.
Global Village Idiot is not a fall down funny collection of essays but that is not its purpose. John O’Farrell is first and foremost a political columnist who is sincerely expressing his beliefs and opinions. Essays in which in their original publication in the Guardian were meant to get British readers to become more cognizant of the political issues surrounding them. In their American reprinting they are meant to provide the American reader with some notion of how we are viewed by the outside or at least British world. However, the essays are humorous and make it feel much less like you are being preached at and more like you are sharing a disdain for the current political climate with a friend.
