Spiritual/Political/Philosophical Blog on the Nature of Truth and Falsehood and Heaven
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| Sunny Days in Heaven Spiritual/Political/Philosophical Blog on the Nature of Truth and Falsehood and Heaven |
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Wednesday, June 15, 2005 Is Bush meme? JunkYardBlog details President Bush's remarks about Israel in which he insists it return to it's (suicidal) 1949 borders. I have fought against the idiot meme of Bush being dumb, but I am more and more hard pressed to defend his policies or thought processes. Bush isn't stupid, but he isn't great either. It is because he is not an original thinker. He lacks the kind of insight which sets a man apart from his peers. For instance, Bush's rhetoric about freedom as a gift from God which all people desire and are entitled to is an implicit doctrine of Christian belief. Freedom is essential to salvation and self-improvement. But it is not a "natural" condition which all aspire to (except vaguely). Political freedom is a rare condition in this world. Everybody aspires to be "free" one day from their burdens, pain, suffering, and responsibilities, but that does not make Man free. We are told that Bush is a student of history, but his scholarship fails to see things as they are in the world. His hope for transforming Iraq was naive. The alternative, though, was much less appealing. Smash Iraq and let it sort itself out with us backing whoever we preferred. His initiative for Israel is senseless in that it shows an incredible blindness to reality. Of course, Israel has also been incredibly blind by not destroying its enemies effectively. We lack realists in politics. Not too many seem to notice that there never will be world peace, that people can't get along with their neighbors for long or with each other; and that political freedom and free markets demands a level of moral discipline that requires constant vigilance and inculcation. Bush isn't dumb. He's a fine and likeable man, and under most circumstances, a good leader, but his nature is much too tender and sweet in the face of violent challenges. He is not a Teddy Roosevelt able to act violently without remorse. He is a product of his times, afraid to be illiberal, intolerant, and powerful. posted by Mark Butterworth | 12:37 PM | |
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