What Do I Have Against Bush?
Stephen Harris
October 14, 2004
When I read my own writing
“Bush chosen by God?” I realize how scathing of President Bush it is, and it
is. But I wonder why it is that I was so condemning of President Bush? Why don’t
I want him to be president anymore? To be honest, I’ve been largely disengaged
from politics for the past year, if not longer. My life has been tough and
spending time keeping current on politics has not been a high priority for me. I
agree more with the philosophy of the Democratic Party than the Republican
Party. However, I didn’t vote in the 2000 election because as an employee of
Microsoft at the time I felt betrayed by the Democrats and our government and I
withdrew my support.
I am not dogmatic about my beliefs. If sifting out the good Republicans didn’t
seem like panning for gold in a river full of pyrite, I’d take the time to vote
for the right Republican. Nonetheless I never planned to vote for Bush.
I am dubious of war and President Bush seems quick on the trigger and is a self
proclaimed “war president.” Otherwise, before the debates I was probably in the
category of “anyone but Bush.”
The challenges of day to day life had allowed me to slip into a world of sound
bites and spin. I am now a bit surprised to discover how thin that world is
turning out to be. I was lulled into that world because I was accustomed to
presidential elections where the candidates mainly differed on ideology. In
theory, journalism is a system that presents an unbiased account of the world.
Since that is impossible to achieve and time consuming to pursue, giving a
balanced account is a cheaper and easier alternative, and not without its
validity. In elections past listening to the headline buzz seemed to correlate
at least somewhat to the quality of the candidates under consideration. The buzz
no longer seems to relate to these people running for president, but rather the
machines that are behind them. And the Bush machine is utilizing the balanced
media in lieu of an unbiased media to lend credibility to lies and distortions.
It isn’t that my opinion of President Bush has gone down so much more since the
debates, it’s more that my opinion of John Kerry has gone up. And my faith in
the system shaken as the inner workings of our political processes are exposed
to the same masses they manipulate and feed on. It’s almost gory to watch, like
seeing the inside of your stomach. The glaring disparity in quality of our two
presidential candidates shines a light down the throat of American politics for
us all to see. If most of us weren’t so tired from being chewed on maybe it
would be more disgusting.
But what I really have against Bush is that he is an oppressor, and a clumsy one
at that. He is the small bully with big friends and expensive weapons out to
fight the world in a stolen car we call the United States.