As the new year has arrived, I’ve been ruminating about the current political atmosphere and how that effects our country at-large. This is not an all-encompassing list but these three personal and political actions are absolutely unacceptable to me: lying, hypocrisy and selling out. Unfortunately, such are the primary components of the modus operandi of far too many politicians.
These acts are typically exhibited by members of both the major parties in this country but the Republicans have certainly used their electoral advantage to gain a very prominent lead in these types of amoral failings. Sadly, this toxic waste is seeping into and poisoning everyday life in this country. This bottoming out is being fed and led by a number of the most prominent so-called ‘leaders’ in this country, with the president of these United States conducting this malignant orchestra.
Yes, instead of the ‘traditional’ coterie of bogeymen sockpuppets consisting of liberals, communists, pacifists and pinkos, it is the moralists, the so-called law-and-order crowd who are striving to undermine the political AND non-political character of America.
These liars and hypocrites shamelessly expose the shallowness of their convictions on a daily basis, with this deficit of personal character often corruptly cloaked in words and images of the truly devout. That but augments the righteousless deficiency.
Yes, Bill Clinton was absolutely wrong in having an affair with Monica Lewinsky and then parsing words about it, no ifs ands or buts. For comparison sakes, let’s line up Clinton’s failings alongside the lies and malfeasance of President Bush and his political clan, those who continue to diminish whatever claim America has enjoyed on moral character:
- Congress did NOT have the same intel as the president prior to the Iraqi invasion, despite President Bush’s bleatings to the contrary
- The timing and number of terror alerts prior to the November, 2004 election compared with those afterwards is, at best, suspicious and, at worst, serving but one scurrilous and unforgiveable purpose–frightening the American populace for political gain
- the continued claims–made long after knowing them to be false but still politically useful–by President Bush and his allies about Iraq’s attempts to acquire both yellow cake from Niger and aluminum tubes that would only have a malevolent purpose, is political cravenness of the basest kind. As with Lyndon Johnson and Vietnam, the use of lies to go to war, is plain and simple internal terrorism exported
- President Bush’s initial proposal to save Social Security from insolvency in 2042 had zero, nothing, nada to do with rectifying the situation and everything to do with elevating the profits of his Wall Street political contributors
- President Bush, despite his claim that Jesus is his favorite philosopher, happily placed his political future in the soiled hands of one Karl Rove, despite knowing of Rove’s past atrocities including stealthily accusing an Alabama youth court judge of being a pedophile, of planting a listening device in his own office and claiming it was placed there by an opponent and of raising concern that a past female Texas Governor liked women a lot, a whole heckuva lot
- President Bush allowing Scooter Libby to resign, rather than be fired, for impeding an investigation into the exposure of national security assets–this after simply ignoring the leak, which begs the question–are these actions in any way consistent with those of an individual who vowed to return integrity to the White House?
Then there are those Judases who selfishly squander all personal integrity to pocket their 30 pieces of tarnished silver. Randy “Duke” Cunningham, Jack Abramoff, Ralph Reed, Tom DeLay, Michael Scanlon, David Safavian and the other ilk simply bid themselves out to the highest offer. This scum comprise the financial terrorists whose perversions and misconduct undermine any effort at creating and nurturing community and common good in our country.
Then you have the mainstream media ‘dividers,’ the voodoo practitioners of print, radio and television witchcraft. Their ultimate purpose, besides scaring those most gullible, is to create and then vilify so-called enemies. Separateness and discord is the nutritionless diet they pitch. These journalistic whores bandy about amplifying their sadistic triumvirate of so-called trespasses, transgressions and abominations, not to save and preserve society, but to fill their own personal deficiencies and to maximize their bank accounts. Hannity, O’Reilly, Coulter, Malkin and others lead this parade of bottom dwellers.
Finally, there are the high priests of the right (wrong) whose vows include turning a blind, godless eye to any misdeeds within their own flock in return for access and power. The Robertsons, the Falwells, the Dobsons, Richard Land and other such spiritual prostitutes have adopted muteness in response to any wrongdoing by themselves or those they politically support in order to have their voice ‘heard.’ They don’t sound like Jesus wannabees–more like Pontius Pilate acolytes.
Returning to the Clinton example, the talk about the negative effects of some of his behavior on youth and others in this country was legitimate. The point that his actions made the job of parenting in America more difficult if kids could rightfully ask why they should be respectful, honest , forthright, etc., if the President isn’t, was valid.
But where is that talk nowadays vis-a-vis President Bush?
President Bush has blessed America’s engagement in state-sponsored torture. He has blessed the casual offering of lies as a blatant political strategy, lies that have resulted in the deaths of thousands,
Ho-hum.
The moralists, the religionists, the Judases, the media dividers, the high priests, well, they can’t be bothered. There is money to be made, power to be accessed–you know, the stuff that’s really important.