Arguing Against America
I’ve had this idea for a post swirling around in my head for a while now, but rather than figure out a way to turn it into some sort of eloquent prose, I’ll just spit it out : Why do Bush and his administration love America? I’m not compelled to assume that my ideological enemies hate America just because we disagree. I’m willing to bet that there’s some reason that makes them want to serve the public, even if that reason is often obscured by ulterior motives.
But I really want to know what those reasons are, because it seems like every time I see something on the news about the Bush Administration in court, they’re arguing against the things that I love about this country. They’ve argued that the separation of powers don’t apply while we’re “at war”, that the President should be allowed to act as a judge, that he should be allowed to keep the day-to-day activities of his staff secret from the people he represents, and that the right of habeas corpus (probably our single most basic right) should be taken from anyone at the President’s discretion. What are we to make of a group of people who are arguing on the wrong side of issues that should have been settled more than 200 years ago?
Maybe it’s just because I want to give these guys the benefit of the doubt (I really do), but I really don’t want to start buying into the “conspiracy theories” that Bush and his buddies are trying to turn America into a one-party oligarchy hell-bent on recreating America into their own Touched By An Angel meets The Apprentice vision. But with them doing everything they can to consolidate power (and in the process weaken the other two branches of govenrment), it’s hard not to see this as an “it walks like a duck and talks like a duck…” situation.
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They love America because it’s making them RICH RICH RICH!
Comment by mon — July 1, 2004 @ 11:46 am
they don’t love america… they love power. do you really think any of the tyrants, kings, dictators, and rulers throughout history really loved their country? no, they all loved themselves, and they loved power, and they knew they had to convince the people that their king loves them because that makes it easier to rule.
yeah, it sounds like conspiracy theory talking… i’m sure someone in Germany was being accused of spreading conspiracy theories back in the ’30s, too.
Comment by tom — July 1, 2004 @ 11:53 am
They love America, but there’s lots of things we don’t really need. Why sweat a little habius corpus? If you live right, the cops just wave you through.
Health care? We have some of the finest health care facilities in the world! What’s the problem?
Education? An education is useless except for the impression a degree can make on anybody who buys into that stuff.
Jobs? I can’t wait to go on vacation- what’s so great about having a job?
…and so on.
Comment by Liv Pooleside — July 1, 2004 @ 1:22 pm
There are patriots and nationalists. Patriots I tend to think of as loving their country for what it is. So those of us who say freedom of speech, etc. is why I love America, we’re patriots. Nationalists love their country because it’s their country and therefore it must be superior. Regardless of how much freedom they strip, it doesn’t affect their pride. They’re from America, America is God’s Chosen Country because they are God’s Chosen People. So wave your flag. End of story.
Comment by Amanda — July 1, 2004 @ 4:23 pm
Give credit to the cowards of Congress and the pet judges of the judiciary also for helping this inept and avaricious administration shred the Constitution like it was an incriminating document, which, if you think about it, it is.
Comment by dean — July 2, 2004 @ 12:32 pm