I don't think that word means what you think it means

[charliesmum]

I've said elsewhere that George Bush reminds me very much of Lord Rust in the Discworld series. Reading the transcript of his speech, I see the similarity even more.

He used the word "freedom" 27 times, and the word 'liberty' 15, but he didn't actually say anything. It was all just words. There's no real blood on his hands, he seems to be saying, because it is all in the quest of some undefined, lofty vision of 'freedom'. Okay, he's not Lord Rust, he's Reacher Gilt.

This paragraph in particular caught my eye:
America's vital interests and our deepest beliefs are now one. Okay, which America is he living in, because last time I checked Amereica was full of all kinds of differing opinions, and many people are not acutally waving flags and cheering on this war. From the day of our founding, we have proclaimed that every man and woman on this Earth has rights, and dignity and matchless value because they bear the image of the maker of heaven and Earth. And I can't help but wonder if he added 'except gays' silently after this sentence.

If he really wanted to impress people, I think a nice gesture would have been to tone down the celebrations. I don't begrudge him a celebration, but I just think in light of the war maybe he could have at least gone through the motions of pretending to care.

And what do you think of this story? I give him credit for standing up for what he thinks is right. And it isn't like he didn't do his duty. But is he letting down his 'team'? I'd like to know everyone else's opinion.

That's all for now. Happy Friday everyone.

Comments

[zakkati.livejournal.com]

I ask our youngest citizens to believe the evidence of your eyes. You have seen duty and allegiance in the determined faces of our soldiers. You have seen that life is fragile, and evil is real, and courage triumphs. Make the choice to serve in a cause larger than your wants, larger than yourself, and in your days you will add not just to the wealth of our country but to its character.

He never stops recruitng, does he? I agree, he just said a load of nothing. As for the guy who's become a conshie? Good on him! At first it's a trickle; just watch out for the flood!

[crossbow1.livejournal.com]

America's vital interests and our deepest beliefs are now one.

I saw a clip of him saying that. It gave me chills.

The soldier refusing to return to Iraq: More power to him. If not "letting down" your buddies meant killing a lot of civilians for a cause you don't agree with, wouldn't you do the same thing?

People might say it's his duty as a soldier to do what he's told, but if my employer asked me to do something that was imoral and illegal, I'd definitely walk out. I'm part of a team too - in fact, I'm a lead - and I'd consider it to be setting a good example for them.

[swordmage.livejournal.com]

Being that I was in school (and the Maternal Unit lacks a television), I didn't get to see the speech. I did hear bits of it on NPr and talked with my dad about it.

And we agreed that one of the annoying things is Bush's idea that all people in the world want "freedom." As he put it, the only thing everyone can agree on is that all people simply want food and shelter. For many, "freedom" (at least in the American sense of democracy) isn't their highest priority.

Man, it'll be an interstingly hard four years. Bush annoys me.

[slammerkinbabe.livejournal.com]

http://www.livejournal.com/users/ludickid/348008.html

Enjoy. (I dunno why he put the headlines above the italicized bits they pertain to, but if you read an italicized bit and then read the capitalized bit above it, it's pretty hilarious.)

[jessii-6.livejournal.com]

As for Bush well... I tend to agree that he only can see one small side of things. Forget the part about geys having no rights, forget the 'image of the maker' and all the other things that should (and do) infuriate me - I just object to him thinking for the 'world'.
As for the soldier ... it's a big issue here for a while already and I will say that I do not agree with him. Yes, that's right, throw rocks at me. Sometimes things are needed to be done, regardless of your own decisions and in his case it's not his duty to decide.

[charliesmum.livejournal.com]

Well, you were a soldier, so you have a better handle on it than I. Although he did already spend time in Iraq, so it's not like he ran off to Canada right off.

[jessii-6.livejournal.com]

yes. but I wasn't that kind of a soldier. I didn't do anything so it doesn't really count.

[ciara-belle.livejournal.com]

From the day of our founding, we have proclaimed that every man and woman on this Earth has rights, and dignity and matchless value

BULL. SHIT.

[fourthage.livejournal.com]

From the day of our founding, we have proclaimed that every man and woman on this Earth has rights, and dignity and matchless value because they bear the image of the maker of heaven and Earth.

Oh yeah, because denying women the right to vote or black people to right not be enslaved is consistent with that statement. *snort*

[ladyiapetus]

If he really wanted to impress people, I think a nice gesture would have been to tone down the celebrations. I don't begrudge him a celebration, but I just think in light of the war maybe he could have at least gone through the motions of pretending to care.

In light of the war; hell, he could have toned things down in light of the tsunami. With all the food shortages, bad water, etc. going on over there did the President really need to spend a boatload of money on a chicken dinner?

I'll bet it wasn't even that good, too. Probably tasted like cafeteria food.

[purplemer3.livejournal.com]

From the day of our founding, we have proclaimed that every man and woman on this Earth has rights, and dignity and matchless value because they bear the image of the maker of heaven and Earth.

Except the queers, 'cause they're immoral perverts.

Except for the homogenization and subsequent attack on all Muslims and people-who-look-like-Muslims across the globe.

Except for non-Christians - especially them athiest types - because fuck them, they're all going to hell after I murder them with this here assault weapon at the divine direction of my President and the Lord Almighty. Amen.

Except for the poor, 'cause they're lazy.

Except for that little period of our history we like to call "slavery".

Except for the women who were given the right to vote a century after the men, who continue to work double-days, who are marginalized by gendered wage disparities, whose rights have and are being eroded by the current administration.

Except for the Japanese internment camps in the 1940s.

Except that America has a freaking colonial history and is built on the subjugation and genocide of those heathen Natives.

Yeah, "every man and woman on this Earth has rights" except for all of that. Yay, freedom.

[aurictech.livejournal.com]

Look at the dates on this coward's actions:

28 December 2004: "I claim CO status."

08 January 2005: His unit deploys.

This worthless sack of dung had plenty of advance warning that his unit was heading across the pond, yet he waited until his unit was less than two weeks from boarding the aircraft to bail out.

Had he petitioned for CO status upon his return from Iraq, or even a few months later (say, early 2004), I might have had some sympathy for him. But, of course, that wouldn't have been the grandstand play he was looking for.

However, never let it be said that I am entirely unfeeling. I'm all for keeping him Stateside for the rest of his military time. In fact, an extended tour at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas seems just the ticket.

[charliesmum.livejournal.com]

Don't hold back. Tell me how you really feel. :)

In his defence, maybe he just couldn't make up his mind right away. Maybe he struggled with his conscience all those weeks, and then finally came to the decision in December.

However, I think ultimately you, as Terry Pratchett says, 'do the job that's in front of you.' I think not deploying was wrong.

Although (being the contradictory animal that I am) I don't blame him one bit. It's got to be scary there.