George W. Bush serves as a reminder of the consequences of unsupervised meetings between first cousins.
A former alcoholic and alleged cocaine user who advocates obsolete teachings in an increasingly progressive society, Bush has managed to give both Christians and Republicans a bad name, as well as provide a stain in history that won’t dry easily.
He vetoed the stem cell research enhancement act twice. He claims to be in favor of supporting life, and if there’s one thing 152 executions during his tenure as governor of Texas prove, the man is dedicated to preserving life.
Provided said “life” benefits him politically.
He promotes abstinence-only sex education. Abstinence simply does not work. Procreation is basic human nature, and when people attempt to divert their nature, they usually fail. Also, evidence suggests that abstinence-only sex education has not slowed STD infections or teen pregnancies, some of which result in those abortions he and his cronies despise so much.
The irony is strong with this one — good fodder for the campfire.
Then again, perhaps abstinence-only sex education might have its benefits. His supporters can certainly benefit from lifelong adherence to the principle.
A fool, a simpleton appealing to the dumbest aspects of society, instead of handling the Sept. 11 aftermath in a mature, helpful manner, he takes on an America-first cowboy mentality.
I believe that no matter who was in office during Sept. 11, we would have seen the Patriot Act, the Information Awareness Office, secret detention camps, and the suspension of habeas corpus, but what about the other problems?
A deficit in the trillions. America’s slide into a third-world farm of obedient consumers. You buy what you don’t need; you go into debt over what you do need. A quagmire in the Middle East. Is it worth it to know that a country that posed no threat to the United States can now never pose a threat? Millions of dead civilians, thousands of dead soldiers, and what do we have to show for it? Osama Bin Laden? Alive and operating. Al-Qaeda? Alive and operating.
Don’t get too caught up in the name “Operation Iraqi Freedom.” This war was never about Iraq’s freedom. It was about WMDs, some of which the U.S. government sold to them, remember? But when none turned up, it became about the spread of democracy.
The spread of democracy, meaning the spread of its own power.
A figurehead, a puppet to those who make the real decisions, a servant to the oil companies first and the American people never, and a leader who briefly benefited from the aura around a wartime president.
Somehow, a man with Ivy League credentials has managed to make working-class people identify with him. They see themselves as victims of persecution at the hands of the liberal media and their evil hordes, stampeding over the horizon, machetes and coat hangers swinging.
In 2004, I knew someone who said she was voting for Bush. This provoked a natural question, something along the lines of “Why?” and she unearthed the following gem:
“Because John Kerry’s a flip-flopper.”
He changes his mind, therefore, I will not vote for him. These are the same kinds of people who won’t support John McCain because he’s not crazy, er, that is, “conservative” enough for them or won’t support Barack Obama because a book told them that an Antichrist is coming, and apparently he fits the bill. I’m amazed people like this can eat without choking on their silverware. Hell, I’m amazed people like this can use silverware in the first place.
What this proves is that requiring a minimum voting age is a flawed concept. Instead, I propose a minimum voting IQ. Score below 60? Well, it looks like candidates will have to appeal to something other than fear and superstition.
No more embryos, no more “just don’t do it,” no more costly wars to settle personal agendas, and with any luck, no more debate on any of it.
Might I recommend real issues? Forget gay marriage — let’s work on unemployment and social inequalities and scientific advances.
Just no more faith-based initiatives. No more hellfire. We’ve had enough for the past four years.
— Travis Lee is a senior in French. He can be reached at [email protected].
