it's time to start having respect for the office at least. It seems like the trendy thing to do is to hate bush, but he is really not that bad. Def. not as right-wing as all us claim he is...he is much more of a wilsonian liberal then a nixon/bush I right winger. I mean would nixon or bush I have invaded iraq and changed regimes? nope! And i tell you, i was so proud to be an american the day iraqis voted. it was touching to see these people be so brave with there purple fingers. I will never forget the image of this women, completely covered, showing the peace sign with one finger purple. I am not a supporter of Bush, i dont agree with all he does, but i support our president. i question govt., i question authority, but there comes a time when patriotism rains supreme. I am an American before all else, and if loving my country is wrong, well as the cliche goes.....i dont want to be right!
It's nice to see someone put things in perspective for a change (although I don't think I agree about the patriotism part). I'm not a big Bush supporter either, but I agree that the people who insist on seeing him as some kind of antichrist hellbent on world domination, rather than as a human being, aren't exactly in the frame of mind to come up with rational solutions to the nation's problems.
I'm glad to see someone using their voice... even though I agree with nothing of what you are saying. For some it is the trendy thing to hate Bush... for others it is the smart thing to do. As far as Kandahar's statement says that people see him as the anit-christ ... I haven't met anyone who feels that way. They don't support him but they dont feel that he is the anti-christ. That is pushing it. I am not putting either of you down in anyway. My father is in love with bush because he is a "good christian" which i believe is the wrong reason to elect the president. Seperation. And I understand that Bush is a human being and that could be why he almost choked and died on a pretzel, but i also understand that some of his decisions were not rational. You said that he invaded Iraq and took down the regimes... but they never asked us to. It was also stated that Bush had to take out Saddam to continue on with his plan of eliminating terrorism. If this is true, why was that country targeted so heavily over all the other terrorist nations? Think back to his fathers reign and maybe you can find your answer. I also think that it was funny that in the beginning of the Iraq war it was called, "Operation Iraqis Liberation" or O.I.L. It was quickly changed to Operation Iraqis Freedom. In my conclusion, Bush may have been the guy to hang out with in like college playing beer pong but I don't think that he should be president. Stick to texas where killing people is the norm.
I will not have respect for the man. He allows for higher pollutants to be put into our air. More Arsenic in our waters. Sends people to fight and die in Iraq. Im proud of the people of Iraq voting. But I mourn for the 40- something people who were killed that day, and Bush claims it was a success? Nope. over 40 people dying is a tragedy. Bush is for war, against the enviroment, and against the people. I love my country. Patriotism is "Supporting your Country all the time, and your government when they deserve it." Mark Twain. Bush doesn't deserve my respect. However, a couple points were raised. Yes, it is sort of the in thing to hate Bush. My brother for example supports right wing policies and says he's anti Bush. Only because it makes him a rebel. Or half the kids at my college who don't seem to understand I am not trying to win friends when I pass out anti war literature, Im trying to teach people why the government does not deserve our support. Im not a big fan of the democrats or the republicans, mind you, but ultimately I don't think we should start supporting people who clearly don't deserve it because we "Love our country." I don't think he's as evil as everyone says. I just think he's greedy. Of course he is, thats why he has continued to destroy the enviroment and fight the enemies who have oil, it makes him richer. He doesn't care about the effects everyone else has to feel.
There's nothing liberal about the Bush administration. It's comparable to the Nixon administration. Some of Bush's people are leftovers from the Nixon era. On a graph of liberal to conservative and libertarian to authoritarian, Bush is way off on the fringe of the conservative/authoritarian quadrant.
I think he meant that he was more liberal than conservative in the sense of economic authoritarianism. If you divide the political spectrum into four parts instead of two, you're correct that he's more authoritarian than anything else. I think the previous poster is right about his foreign policy though. While it's also very authoritarian, he's definitely closer to Wilson than Nixon in this regard. Like Wilson, he's an ideologue who simply ignores the geopolitical realities of the world when the news isn't something he wants to hear. Nixon, on the other hand, was much more tactical than either Wilson or Bush. I doubt Nixon had any grand vision of the world beyond killing communists.
*im not gonna be a nice guy in this post, I apologize... well not really* this post makes me sick, honestly... *vomits* get americas dick out of your mouth. you fell for the propaganda machine, and were so proud when iraqis voted in their first election (although voting never meant a thing, everyone KNEW who would run Iraq).. Oh whoop de fucking doo... Bush isnt evil! I mean, all he's done is kill thousands of people! Thanks for helping other likeminded idiots justify bush, which is the same thing as justifying murder in cold blood... We're you proud to be an american when we slaughtered more natives than nazi's did jews? We're you proud to be an american when we put smallpox on blankets and gave them to natives in some sort of "kind gesture"... we're you proud to be an american when we dropped 2 bombs on japan killing hundreds of thousands of people instantly, and even more hundreds of thousands died later from radiation poisoning... were you proud to be an american when we gave the USSR money to insite the rise of Stalin? were you proud to be an american when we invaded Vietnam, to fight for the side which was oppressing the vietnamese people, denying them FREE ELECTIONS, and democracy? Were you proud to be an american when soldiers cleared out small villages, killing every woman and child in them? We're you proud to be an american when we dropped napalm on people in vietnam and iraq? We're you proud to be an american when we enslaved millions of africans? We're you proud to be an american when we sent asians from across the country to live in camps? We're you proud to be an american during the Nixon administration? Gotta support your president, huh? God damn you american whores, this is why I hate this damn country.. i have to live with people like this. "DERF, WELL HE IS OUR PRESIDENT" Under this, extremely ignorant logic... the iraqi people should have supported sadamm hussein... "Derf, well after all, he is our supreme dictator" Where is my american pride? Its shoved within the depths of my ass...and I dont intend on looking for it anytime soon. *end of extremely rude rant, you may bitch at me now. i do not care. any rude comments coming from people whose logic is "well he is our president", really means less than nothing to me. In fact, I probably wont even click on this thread to read the replies, coz im going to work.*
I'm concerned about the long term effects of this administration. Twenty or thirty years from now will retirees have social security and affordable health care? Will the world economy favor only those who are already wealthy, with little or no hope for those who are born poor? Will our education system be gutted? Will the environment be ruined beyond repair? No I don't spend my days agonizing over these concerns, but they are in the back of my mind. I see Bush as a happy puppet doing the bidding of the wealthy interests in this country, and the average world citizen is losing ground little by little.
With regards to foreign policy, Bush's tactics (or those of the people who are really running his administration) are authoritarian without question although he tries to paint the outcome of his military actions as some form of libertarianism. As if to say, after all of this U.S. military intervention is complete, there's is going to be a libertarian freedom in all these invaded countries with no further U.S. interference. Based on the track record of the continual use of imperialism by the U.S., I just don't buy that presentation. The Bush administration is much the same as Nixon, with the exception of the word 'terrorist' used in place of 'communist'. Moreover, the 911 incident was a dream come true for the Bush administration as it gave a new rallying patriotic cry to replace the anti-communist argument as an excuse for military intervention in other countries. .
Most patriotism is a very bad thing. It blinds you from the rest of the world, it cuts you loose from reality. Sure, the guy is president of the US. But have we already forgotten that he stole the office? I wouldn't be proud of my country when something like that is possible. How can America hope to spread democracy to other countries, when America itself isn't even fully democratic? The district system allows someone to win with the minority of the votes. That is NOT democracy. It's a very bad way of electing the most poweful man of the world. Blind patriotism also makes for idiotic assumptions, like: "Terrorist hate freedom." "Capitalism and democracy are ideal and the best form of government." And, eventually, it will lead you to this assumption: "Bush is a great leader of the greatest country in the world." Blindly trusting your country means believing everything your government tells you. Don't let it get ahold of you (difficult with all the propaganda), or you might get to the crazy conclusion that Bush really attacked Iraq for another reason than oil. Bush = President You support president, with other words, you support Bush. And yet you write you don't support him? Respecting the office is impossible if you don't respect the man holding the office.
Um... I agree, but...... I would try to be a bit nicer..... But good job. I remember going home from the first major ANti War Ralley here in Chicago... When the war started... My mom was pissed that I went. I was seventeen. She told me "I don't like the war either, but I won't have this like another Vietnam. So as long as we are there, we are going to support the troops." To which I said "I support the troops. That's why i want them home." but I do love this country. I'm sorry, its a good damn country. Just because we get so much shit from the government... Most presidents have seemed to make it their duty to make things worse (then again, they are looking out for their wallets) for everyone. But that doesn't mean I hate this country. I love this country and that's why I want it fixed. Just because the government causes so much hell means the country itself is bad. The country is made up of The Government. The Land. The People. Three things that make the country. I don't like it when the first one creates hell for the other two, but America is not the government alone. *turns on his Pete Seeger CD*
Keep your love to the people you know and care about, not to something as abstract as a whole country.
Bush is far too incompetent to be the anti christ. Can't you see that? he doesn't have a clue what he is doing. He just does what his administration tells him to. He is definitely too asanine to be the president of the most powerful country in the world. Then again, I suppose he reflects the intelligence of the country that elected him.
"i question authority, but there comes a time when patriotism rains supreme. I am an American before all else, and if loving my country is wrong, well as the cliche goes.....i dont want to be right!" So what is patriotism anyway? It can be divided up into two kinds. The first kind, the kind that is legitimate, is based on the actual nature of the country - how it has acted in the past and how it acts in the present. The most common form, and the type you subscribe to, is a simple minded belief that "I was born here, so 'here' is better than anywhere else, and therefore, we are automatically right regardless of what anyone else says." Anyone who prides themselves on their citizenship in the America of today, anyone who believes that the Iraqi war really was about freeing Iraqis, or fighting terrorism, is missing the big picture, and falls into the second patriot category. That patriotism is so extremely shallow, and can not result in anything good. It only fuels desire for conflict with countries who have a legitimate beef with us, or who do not share every one of our beliefs, because it is pride based on nothing. The popularity of pride just because "I'm here, so 'here' must be the best!" is why the country is quickly going to shit, and getting away with fighting wars for oil. And don't let your baseless patriotism convince you that we were fighting to free Iraqis - that COULD have been a positive side effect, were it not for the political vacuum and turmoil, and huge insurgency, and tons of violience that has resulted. Our original excuse was those terrifying weapons of mass destruction that didn't exist. Even those were not large-scale weapons. Just stuff like mustard gas and small bombs and the like. We knew when we invaded Iraq that Korea was devoloping NUCLEAR WEAPONS, far beyond your average "weapon of mass destruction". Yet we chose to invade iraq. Why? Could it be because Korea doesn't have the oil we seek? Your choice of patriotism without substance over logical questioning of government motives is an ignorant one. Sorry to be so harsh, but somebody who admits that they see the bullshit of the government, yet holds that second kind of patriotism simultaneously, deserves it.
