Pursuit of Honor

In my book, Pursuit of Honor, I included both exoteric and esoteric truths, as seen in Strauss’ Persecution and the Art of Writing. “An exoteric book contains then two teachings: a popular teaching of an edifying character, which is in the foreground; and a philosophic teaching concerning the most important subject, which is indicated only between the lines” (Strauss 36). The exoteric truth is that the CIA, in many senses, functions as a sovereign state. The CIA and its senior agents do as they wish, bending the law at will. As Schmitt says in Definition of Sovereignty, the sovereign “decides whether there is an extreme emergency as well as what must be done to eliminate it” (Schmitt 7). I wished to show my readers that the CIA functions as an exception, operating above the common law. Aside from that, I also wished to show my readers that not everything is black and white. I don’t think that I have mastered hiding the esoteric truth yet (though I’m also afraid that Strauss wouldn’t consider me to be a great thinker), but that might because I’m not really trying to escape persecution. This was just an assignment for class, after all. I think that many of my readers were sympathetic to Rapp, despite all of the torture that they witness him committing. I have it on good authority from Kate, one of our classmates, that for a second, she found herself agreeing with Rapp about the ACLU (such as when Rapp says “the day the ACLU starts driving our national security policy is the day America is really fucked” (Flynn 92).) If I can get someone like Kate to believe, even momentarily, that the ACLU is just another obstacle that needs to be circumvented in order for the CIA to be sovereign, I’ll consider that a success. But my real attempt at showing this truth was with Hakim. I made him very intelligent, well traveled, and (often) kind, in hopes of making him a likable character. I was very pleased with Kate’s thoughts on Hakim: she told me that by the end of the book, when Hakim is trying to flee from America to Nassau, she was rooting for him; when Mitch and the other CIA agents were on his tale, she didn’t want them to catch him; when he was their prisoner, she wanted the to let him go. This is what I was going for: to try and communicate to my readers that people and events are never exactly as they seem. Hakim may have been a terrorist, but he also tried to save the young boy and father (but then on the other hand, he was still a terrorist…). I wasn’t trying to push any particular point of view on my readers, but more to remind them to think for themselves, and not to see the world as rigid, black and white, and inflexible.
In order to make this book successful and showcase my truths, I employed Weber’s charismatic truth, as well as some of Adorno’s techniques. For Hakim, I employed the “persecuted innocence” device. Hakim “stresses, for example, his personal integrity and honesty…he also hints at his qualifications as a leader…he is satisfied by vaguely referring to God’s call” (Adorno 10). While I didn’t use this exactly (as I don’t think that anyone would actually consider Hakim innocent), I did use this tool to make him a more likable and sympathetic character.
My audience was the general public, not great men or great thinkers. I think that most people will be able to read and enjoy my book, and a good amount should also be able to understand my esoteric truth. Based on my conversation with my classmate, I think that my book was very successful.