Posted on 7-7-2004

We Face A Fork in the Road
by James Wallerstedt

Last month, Americans again had the opportunity to watch our President stare into the teleprompter and confirm our secret fears that the nation is heading down a dark and dangerous path.

George Bush and those that run Washington alongside him seem to have a natural fondness for enemies, as well as some talent for attracting new ones. Disturbingly, President Bush has recently made it clear that he sees his administration as being "on a mission for God."

There is evidence of an "end times" interpretation of events within the White House, whereby unconditionally backing Israel will lead to Armageddon, which will lead to the Second Coming of Christ. Meanwhile, a respected and growing segment of our Christian community - including Bill Moyers and Jimmy Carter - are speaking out against such fundamentalist interpretations (which the latter calls "foolish"), as they are clearly formulas for pitting intolerant Christian and Jewish elements of society against radical Islam; in a potential, worldwide, dead-end "Crusade."

Many, therefore, will likely interpret the phrase from the President's recent speech, "We will finish the job of the fallen," to mean; at the end of our present course, we, too, will be fallen. Our national goodwill will be all but destroyed, our military assets will be useless against a dispersed and vigorous "enemy," damage to our national economy will be nearly total (in a recent NY Times article, former Treasury Secretary Robert Rubin indicates that the American economy may right now be heading down the same path as...Argentina).

During the last presidential campaign, when asked to name his "favorite philosopher" in history George Bush answered, "Jesus." Yet, if we look at the policies of his administration, we find the very opposite of the qualities that Jesus counselled:

arrogance versus humility
strengthening the strong while weakening the weak
selfishness and materialism versus selflessness and a spiritual approach to life
an inclination toward revenge instead of forgiveness
a tendency toward competition versus cooperation
disrespect rather than a deep-seated love for nature
a tendency toward secretiveness and subterfuge versus honesty and openness
It's not for nothing that Jesus advised, "By their fruits shall ye know them." He and many other sage voices of history have counselled paying close attention to what people actually do, versus listening only to their words. George Bush and his administration talk a good game; patriotism, Christianity. Yet, they are busy doing just about everything imaginable to contradict the fundamental teachings both of the Founding Fathers and the founder of their supposed faith.

"Leave no Child Behind" is poised to leave all American children behind. The "Clear Skies Initiative" threatens to pollute our skies forever. The "liberation" of Iraq is a hated occupation. "Compassionate conservatism" is busy giving away the store to an already over-privileged elite. Right down the line, there's the stark contrast between what's being said and what's being done.

Here's what Walter Cronkite recently said about the situation, "One sometimes gets the impression that this administration believes that how it runs the government is its own business and no one else's. The tight control of information, as well as the dissemination of misleading information and outright falsehoods, conjures up a disturbing image of a very different kind of society. Democracies are not well-run nor long-preserved with secrecy and lies."

Okay, so GWB seems not to be following very well in the footsteps of his favorite philosopher. Yet, we might ask, how does the Bush administration stack up against that other pillar of loyalty continually evoked, national patriotism? Well, let's consider what the Founding Fathers might have said...

Given that they tended to identify with Masonry rather than Christianity, that probably would have positioned them, right from the start, among the misguided. They were against secrecy in government. They believed in the separation of church and state; in freedom of speech and association; in habeus corpus and freedom from arbitrary search and arrest. Benjamin Franklin once said, "Those who are willing to forsake their civil liberties for security, deserve neither." All that would have put them at odds with the likes of George Bush, Dick Cheney, John Ashcroft, Don Rumsfeld and various neo-con members of the present administration.

For those of us who take seriously the symbols of God and flag, the following should be considered; the greatest crimes of history have always been committed in the name either of the state, or religion, or both. Hitler carried out his own evangelical programs for "the glory of the Fatherland," whilst Nazi storm-troopers wore belt buckles which proclaimed, "Gott mit Uns" ("God with us"). In the aftermath of WWII, good-hearted Germans asked themselves how they might have avoided being duped by such appeals to their patriotism and religious loyalty.

The President's favorite philosopher gave us a clue, long ago; "By their fruits shall ye know them."

America, today, spends more on armaments and military than all the other nations of the world, combined. We refuse to join treaties to protect human rights and the environment that nearly all other nations endorse. UNDP indicates that but a small fraction of our present military expenditures could solve all the worst problems of human misery and poverty, on a global basis. Yet, our administration seems rather uninterested in this prospect. Identifying and pursuing enemies, instead, has captured their interest (terrorists versus communists, this time around).

Just imagine what GWB's favorite philosopher might have said about these priorities.

Humanity confronts a fork in the road, today - one which must be approached by drawing upon the best of our collective values and history. Where I part company with fundamentalists and fanatics of all stripes - political and religious - has to do with the idea that we can throw away all the most cherished values taught by the founders of our creeds, while claiming to be acting in their name.