Wendy takes on...

...the blopic of the day and wins! (or just muses)

Friday, August 22, 2003

 
...the Stop Bush protesters

I don't think that President Bush is doing an A+ job. I was appalled by the steel tariffs. I am continually appalled that he signs bills like the Patriot Act sent him by his 535 colleagues on Capitol Hill. And his Department of Justice is beyond appalling.

Our Attorney General is soooo proving me wrong. Back when he'd just been nominated and I was being inundated with "pro-choice" e-mails opposing him based on (as I saw it) his religious beliefs, I defended his nomination. I told the Stop Ashcrofters that Senator Ashcroft knew the difference between upholding the law as Attorney General and shaping it as a Senator. He would take his role as the nation's chief law enforcement officer seriously, I said. Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! Today's Department of Justice is almost as ridiculous as the Crusades. Just another "Christian" mission/destructive rampage.

What if our Attorney General read the Constitution again? What if he used the notions of states' rights and individual liberty to guide his decisions and policies?

I'm glad he's well-versed in the Scriptures. Our founders were, too. To understand what they wrote, it helps to understand what the many authors of the Bible wrote. Our founders also relied heavily upon Aristotle's writings. He's that guy who said we must be neither cowardly nor rash, but courageous. The Patriot Act is cowardly and rash. It is not courageous. I vote for courageous.

Remember Patrick Henry? He was one of the founders who was truly on fire for God and His Holy Word. Remember what he said? Does 'give me liberty or give me death' ring any bells?

Let's be courageous. Let's choose Aristotle's LOGIC and REASON to fight the beast of anti-Americanism and terrorism.

Law enforcement officers don't need more power. They need to learn to use their power wisely.

For example, let's teach the FBI how to budget and, I don't know, GATHER INTELLIGENCE. Why is it that agents spend so little time actually investigating? Let's investigate that.

In any case, I've been wondering for two weeks what the Stop Bush rally is all about. I kept seeing the little flyers and I wondered "stop Bush from what?" Stop him, period? Like, stop him from living? I figured it was just another giant collective of negative thinkers opposed to one particular individual. Sure President Bush has his shortcomings. He's mortal. Sure we'd like to see some things done differently, but is our problem really with this one individual?

So Stop Bushies, we all know what and whom you don't want. What is it that you want? What creative, productive solution do you offer to this problem you've identified?

What did you do to prevent this "evil man" from taking the highest office in the land? Did you (Washington residents) go to your district caucus meetings? Did you vote in the Republican primary? As active citizens who care passionately about public policy, surely you're aware that whether you're registered Democract, Socialist or GDI*, you can weigh in TWICE on the candidate your state supports for the Republican Nominee for the US Presidency.

It's not like the Bush candidacy snuck up on us. As I was getting ready to leave the country for eastern Europe in 1998 I hesitated to go because I wanted to work with Ari Fleischer on Elizabeth Dole's campaign. However, it was crystal clear way back then that Bush was the GOP* favorite. Don't you remember how many members of Congress had already signed on to back him? Don't you remember how well his gubernatorial website was going to transition to a run for the presidency? What exactly were you doing back then to prevent this great evil that you so despise?

Myself, I did nothing. I found out that it was Secretary Dole* who came up with the brilliant idea of forcing states to raise the drinking age to 21 by threatening to withhold Department of Transportation money for Interstates. Not quite what President Eisenhower* had in mind, I'm sure. I realized I couldn't devote my energy to Dole's campaign for the GOP nomination, because she clearly didn't care about states' rights. That left Bush. I figured that if we were going to have a President who was bred to take over his father's political seat, better Bush (raised on a ranch) than Gore (raised on Capitol Hill).

So, Stop Bushies, what do you want? What do you offer?

I know you don't like dams. I know you don't like anyone harvesting any trees in the forest. I know you don't like Bush. I know you don't like Ashcroft. I know you don't like civil rights violations if they don't serve your special interests.

Other than using Bush and Ashcroft's visits to our region to get a bigger audience for your latest tantrum, what are you doing to make the world a better place?

If you don't like dams in the Pacific Northwest, don't use electricity!

If you don't like forest management, immolate yourself in the next forest fire and try hard to come back as pretty wildflowers or yummy mushrooms.

If you didn't like the war in Iraq, STOP BREEDING HATRED AND NEGATIVITY! That is exactly where war comes from.

How many of you took off work today to protest? How many miles did you drive? How much time did you spend making your poster? How many of you were there? Had you gotten together to put all that time and energy into something POSITIVE, just think what you might have accomplished!

What if you'd spent that time and energy volunteering for the Washington Trails Association to clean up a piece of forest somewhere in the state?

What if you'd spent that time and energy educating people about individual liberty and the Constitution? What if you'd been writing letters to your representatives asking them to undo what they did when they voted to pass the Patriot Act?

What if you'd combined that time and energy with logic and reason?

Maybe we'd be a little closer to that nebulous thing you want but can't quite articulate. Maybe we'd live in something more like peace and harmony. Maybe we wouldn't all be so frustrated.



Notes:
* GDI = God Damned Independent
* GOP = Grand Ol' Party = the Republican Party
* Elizabeth Dole served as Secretary of Transportation AND Secretary of Labor.
* Drinking age laws are established state by state -- powers not enumerated in the Constitution shall be reserved to the states kinda thing -- but they don't get their tax dollars back for interstate maintenance if they don't make legal adults wait three years to drink beer.
* President Eisenhower led the drive for funding and development of the Interstate Highway program.

** Don't look to me for lessons. I obviously get so frustrated by your negativity, that I wallow in my own. Never fear, however, you'll soon have driven me away with your collectivist politics. You'll be rid of this angry imp before you can say Universal Healthcare.
Wendy 5:58 PM