George Bush is a problem.
His critics decry his assault on the environment, his overlooking of human rights issues, his partiality towards the well-off and towards those in the energy business, his Christian-state ideals, his war-mongering, and his general cynicism that he turns into public policy.
It seems he can get away with anything.
So it’s no wonder that billionnaire George Soros has dedicated tens of millions to his defeat. Or that dozens of so-called 527 organizations have popped up within the last 2 months to aid the Democrats in beating him.
Or is he?
I speculate that George Bush’s presidency is merely the reflection of a larger movement in American society. Sure, his abuses of the environment, and human rights, for instance, are unprecedented, but it seems that the importance of these issues in the American mind has been diminishing since the 70’s and 60’s, respectively.
We can also look at Christianity, a religion practiced by the majority of Americans. Christianity has Seven Deadly Sins, all equal in their evil, all of which are a one-way ticket to Hell. I’d like to focus on two of these, adultery and greed. Adultery on the part of a public figure, a neighbor, or a guest on Springer is a common source of uproar these days, and justly so, as it is in the minds of most Americans, a deadly sin. But I see the equally dangerous sin of greed being committed regularly, by these same public figures and neighbors, without the accompanying sentiment of distaste. Why? Because money and power have become a celebrated part of our culture.
So what’s your point?
My point is that societies change, and people’s ideals change. It seems that American ideals have changed over the past 30 years or so from an idealistic “let’s make everybody’s life better” perspective to a more cynical “let’s get rich” perspective. I think that Bush’s near-victory over Gore in 2000 was less the triumph of one man over another than the triumph of the new American Way over the old. This explains why Bush can get away with things that previous presidents wouldn’t have dreamed of.
It also means that defeating Bush is only a small step in reversing this trend of American cynicism.
John