Fool Me Once ...
It has been a week since Becky and I got back from a two-week trip to Spain and France and already the pleasure of Old Europe has faded to a dim memory. Work and the Republican Convention can take the gild off the lily damn quickly.
While we were traveling, I had time to reflect on life here in the states. It is amazing how your mind clears when it isn’t struggling against the mindless chatter of American newscasters and the fear-mongering of the Bush Administration.
We met with old friends and made new acquaintances. The conversations we had were the equivalent of drinking fresh, cold water after a long hot bike ride: refreshing and renewing. Old Europe is just that, old: with a long history that has a lot to tell us, if we are willing to listen.
One theme re-occurred in our conversations: if we re-elect George W. Bush, we get what we deserve. It appears that until now, the people of the world have given us the benefit of the doubt, and have separated the American people from the policies of our government. For the last four years, Europeans have said to me, “We love Americans; it is your government that we can’t stand.” This is about to change if we re-elect Bush. More than once I was told that re-electing George would be a clear indication that we Americans are as selfish, ignorant, and uncaring as our government and that the good will we have experienced, and abused, since 9/11 will be much harder to find in the future.
Last night, while listening to the recap of the President’s acceptance speech at the convention, I kept hearing the pundits talk about Bush’s domestic agenda and his plans for the next four years. After four years in the cellar, the Compassionate Conservative was dusted off and wheeled out again for our thoughtless consumption.
While listening to the pontificating of the right-wing propagandists I flashed back to a press conference when George had mangled the old saying, “Fool me once shame on you; fool me twice, shame on me.”
This election is an example of that old bromide playing out on a national and international scale.
For four years, George Bush has consistently deceived the American people. Blaming his policies on 9/11, as some of the propagandists were saying last evening, “9/11 hijacked the original Bush agenda” is just another lie in a long list of lies. There was no Compassionate Conservative then and there is none now.
9/11 had nothing to do with the scuttling of the Kyoto Agreement, which the international community had rewritten to meet American concerns and then had it rejected anyway.
9/11 had nothing to do with the “No Child Left Behind” and other similarly deceptively named programs that implied genuine concern about the welfare of the American people and the environment but were nothing more than methods to undermine our wellbeing.
9/11 had nothing to do with immense shift in power and wealth towards an increasing smaller group of privileged elite who have no interest in democracy or the American Dream.
9/11 has been a very convenient excuse to rape our country.
This election gives the American people the opportunity to say, “Enough of your lies and deceptions. Get ye behind us, Satan!” and kick George Bush and extremist policies out of the White House.
If we do not vote him out, then we the Deceived, become Deceivers too. We will no longer be victims but willing accomplices and we will share responsibility for the terrible things that our government will do in the next four years.
The Shame will be Ours.
“Facts are such stupid things.” Ronald Reagan
posted by Les @ 2:48 AM
4 Comments:
Hey! how you!
I am new to bloggin, I saw your site and felt compeled to respond. In some ways it seems you are in a catbird seat, you are able to travel the globe, be a student, and have the extra earned money that in can be taxed for the up keep of those whom want to steal from society. Or are you the one whom steals from me while you span the globe. Those whom work in biological hazardous waste, don't span the globe but we do actually pay taxes, and when even under "clinton" they forgot to hold out enough money, I had to write a check to them. I write (4) checks a year to this wasteful government, and this Socialist liberal government, supports mindless fools at a higher standard of living, than myself someone whom works, and pays taxes. Well as a AIDS, services coordinator in my previous county of residence, my clients, had larger T.V.'s, and computers, Play Station 2's, X-Box's, MP-3's, and other things. The computer I use to compose this; the tower comes from mail order parts, the monitor and speakers are used. Yet I would go out and beg the public to give funds, to people whom had a better standard of living I had. With the new drugs being provided buy federal, and private grants, these people will now out live me. So I woke up smelled the coffee, and now I analyze, and catalog the waste of dead people, to determine disease states. the "actualfreedom" man
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Hey it's me again for one small comment.
Let's blog about this Kyoto treaty lie, which is designed only to introduce Socialist controls over U.S. sovereignty, and make our Constitution secondary to communist edict. Even as little as 25 years ago, the global "boogey man" was the new ice-age. Whatch the movie "Local Hero", (1981), they make reference to the comming Ice-age. Ever since the 1950's a group of people have tried to convence, the general public, that there is this giant "boogey man", white man is it's creator, and only joining the communist party is the solution. Also don't forget that the sun is on a 1,000 high of being active, also it has been proven that the earth has gone thru cycles of heating, and cooling without the benefit of man, especially that "republican white man" whom magically can change the weather conditions on the whole earth. OOOHHH RRRAAAHHH !!!!! By the way come by "actualfreedom" I do not like republicans either, but today I have to speak out aginst the democrats. When the federal government takes care of their business, gives the citizens their tax-breaks, only then can the citizens fund social programs.
You've raised the stakes on this election in my view, and opened a concept I never thought about. After seeing such European media as Rammstein's "Amerika," I was a little uneasy about anti-American sentiment in Europe reaching a din, until a few Euro friends assured me that it was only the prez'dint, and that they thought Americans were just duped the first time and would make good on it the next election.
But this makes sense. It is no longer merely a good idea to give this current guy the boot, but it is VITAL to the future of the world. Whether or not we need Europe militarily in the short term is uncertain. In the long term, it's REALLY uncertain, and it's not a good idea to anger even more people. We've already got the terrorists.
It may not work, though. With such demigods as Bill O'Reilly and Ann Coulter on the job (priests for the Rush Limbaugh Cult and all its 30-40 million followers), the prophecies of trickle-down economics (which has failed to revive a stagnant economy every time it's been attempted, with the exception of the upper class and those few, random, common folk lucky enough to benefit from it) and anti-dissent have been disseminated. Conservatives own the airwaves and the stations, and they really don't want to lose Mr. Bush-he's been too good to them. And this is why the polls show Bush and Kerry at a dead heat.
Even if Kerry wins, Europe may still look at the win-by-a-hair results and think "gee, it was really hard for them to give up their god. Maybe they're not so discerning after all."
Well, I can't worry about the future like that. I do enjoy your writing, though, found by Googling for some Bushisms.
- Duke Revo
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