I Am Angry

A guest email from a good friend:

I am an angry man this morning. I am angry because George W. Bush will sit in the White House for four more years. I am angry that my tax dollars will continue to support this insane war that Bush has gotten us into. I am
angry that Kerry couldn’t exploit the laundry list of unbelievably gross errors in judgment that this President seems proud of. But most of all, I am angry because I have lost faith in the American people. How could our nation have committed us to four more years of what has to be considered one of the most inept administrations ever to have wielded power? How could Americans vote for a man, who by all accounts, has deceived the American
people to the tune of 1,000 dead American soldiers and counting? How could any intelligent, reasonably-informed person have let this happen? With 3 million votes between Dubya and Kerry, it’s painfully obvious to me that the
answer is simple–most Americans simply don’t think. They bury their heads in the sand. They lack the necessary skills ro make informed judgments, to actually exert the energy to uncover truth from fiction. They let blind
faith supercede logic and reason. They tune in to CNN or Fox News, hear what the “pundits” have to say, or hear that day’s headline ( Kerry discredited by Swiftboat Veterans for truth!!) and feel that they have been “informed”.
How truly sad this is. What a sad commentary. With so much riding on this election, I’d hoped that people would look at the Big Picture. They would look at Bush’s record: the spiralling deficit, an unjustified war, Bush’s rejection of “bad science” concerning global warming, his lack of a REAL and meaningful energy policy designed to get us off Big Oil, his blatently transparent cronyism. If people had looked, they would’ve discovered Bush had no moral or rational leg to stand on. But they didn’t……instead, all across middle-america, people bought into his fear-mongering, let their faith blind them to reality, and like a herd of cows, voted for him without ever critically thinking about the consequences. Then there are those who hold an equally distasteful place in my heart and soul; those people who go to the polls and vote for a candidate based on his stance concerning ONE issue. These people are the worst sort of voter– people who ignore the larger issues at hand and vote in an unbelievably egotistical manner. How many gun lovers voted for Bush on the perceived notion that somehow, Kerry was going to take their guns away? How many people voted for Bush because he backs a constitutional amendment banning gay marriage? There were MUCH larger issues at stake in this election. To paraphrase Matt Stone and Trey Parker, ” if you don’t know the issues, stay at home “. ( Oh, and I also abhor gays who vote for a candidate based solely on his/her stance towards gay rights. )

There are so many reasons to hate George Bush and the GOP:

• 1. Bush lied. Period. About Saddam. About the WMDs. About the “threat” to America. And yet, the “liberal” media has given him a free pass. When Clinton lied about his blowjob, the media and the GOP turned him into their whipping boy and called into question his ability to lead the country based on his “lack of morals”. Apparently, lying to the nation about going to war is somehow OK. Apparently, losing American soldiers– almost daily– based on a lie is K. Apparently, Bush’s moral center has not been compromised.

• 2. Bush’s disdain for anyone who questions him. Cabinet-level appointees have described Bush as “woefully ignorant” of even the most basic of issues. BUSH-APPOINTED administration officials have resigned, siting Bush as impossible to work with as a reason for doing so. He does not engage in discussion and bases most of his decisions on ” a gut feeling “, not logic or reason. Look where that has gotten us………

• 3. By diverting resources and money to an un-just war in Iraq, Afghanistan is back at Square One. The warlords are in charge, the Taliban is rearing it’s head once again and human rights are in peril, once again. It’s like we were never there……………..

• 4. Human rights here at home are in peril. Right-wing religious groups have hi-jacked the GOP, even to the dismay of some Republicans. In fact, it is telling that some Republicans have predicted a civil war within the GOP if Bush was to be re-elected. ( I personally hope it happens…..I’d love to watch the GOP implode under the weight of it’s own ill-fated decisions. ) Division within your OWN party certainly does not bode well for being known as a “uniter”. George Bush–in a word–is a divider. Never have I seen this nation so polarized.

• 5. Bush has been quoted as saying he’s “doing the Lord’s work”. Well, that’s fine, but don’t do it from the White House. I have nothing against people believing in a Higher Power, but when that faith so utterly infuses itself into politics, that rails against EVERYTHING this country stands for. For Bush to stand before Congress, and declare that the USA is going to embark on a Crusade against terrorists, belies the weight with which his faith plays a role in his day-to-day decision making. It also belies his ignorance of history; given the pretext in which the Crusades ere set, it shows with shocking clarity how ignorant Bush is of even monumental historic events in world history. And this is the leader of the Free World…………

Those close to Bush have been quoted as saying that Bush “believes in what he is doing” to the exclusion of any other alternative. Alternatives are a nuisance to Bush, something to get out his way, something impeding his Grand
Plan. One man cannot possibly run a modern nation without input from experts.
Bush has obviously decided to try……………..

I am embarrassed to be an American. I am embarrassed for our nation. I loathe our standing in the world. America’s promise was quenched today. My only consolation is that we have term limits, and that this simple, un-qualified man will never be able to shape our country’s destiny again.
As it stands, America will be digging itself out of the “Bush years” for years to come……………..

Mark