H
Harry Hope
Guest
http://www.newstimeslive.com/news/story.php?id=1058298&source=tabbox
Jul 04 2007
Lesson for the Fourth of July
It is perhaps fitting, in an ironic sort of way, that President George
W. Bush freed Scooter Libby virtually on the eve of America's
Independence Day.
It is fitting because Bush's commuting Libby's 2 1/2-year prison
sentence in the CIA leak case falls into the consistently appalling
White House pattern of exuding arrogance and resisting accountability
for its actions.
It is ironic because the president's transparently political action in
setting free Vice President Dick Cheney's former chief of staff falls
as far away as possible on the idealism spectrum from the inspiration
and sense of hope represented by our forefathers' courageous actions
231 years ago.
The Fourth of July has always ranked high on my list of favorite
holidays.
Not because of the fireworks, not because it's a day off from work.
I celebrate the holiday because I admire the men and women who risked
their lives to free the American colonies from the tyranny of England.
I admire the men who had the courage to write and sign the Declaration
of Independence, the document that gave voice to the desires of
Americans who wanted their own nation.
I am forever indebted, as are all Americans, to those who made it
possible for us to live in the greatest country in the world, just as
we are indebted to the men and women in uniform who have fought to
retain what our forefathers accomplished with their historic efforts.
I'm a longtime fan of the musical "1776," and every time I see it I am
inspired by the vision and bravery of the men who created the
Declaration of Independence.
I am proud to say I love my country, and I am not shy about expressing
my anger and disdain for what the Bush-Cheney-Rove Administration has
done to it over the past nearly seven years.
The damage done -- to our reputation in the world, to our own
self-image, to our fiscal well-being, to our Constitutional rights, to
our national security, to the brave soldiers who have died or been
seriously injured in the ill-fated war in Iraq -- speaks for itself.
The Bush Administration will go down in history as one of the most
incompetent and least accomplished of all time.
Fortunately, at least in the eyes of three-quarters of the American
people, the reign of George W. Bush is entering its final stages.
And in January 2009, a new president -- in concert with the American
people -- will have the opportunity to raise this country from the
lows to which it has fallen under Bush, Cheney and Rove.
But as deplorable as the past seven years have been, all of the blame
does not fall on George W. Bush, or his autocratic vice president, or
his "political brain."
Much of the responsibility for America finding itself where it is
today -- in a quagmire in Iraq, in a mountain of debt, in a country
more and more divided between rich and poor, as a nation that failed
miserably in the wake of Katrina -- lies with the American people
themselves.
The United States has traveled down the wrong path for several years
now.
But the American people -- voters, political leaders, the media, you
name it -- have allowed it to happen.
After Sept. 11, 2001, the Bush Administration portrayed as unpatriotic
anyone who dared to disagree with it on any issue -- and a very high
percentage of Americans backed right down instead of standing up for
what they knew was right.
Bush, Cheney and Rove have proven themselves very good at one thing --
creating fear and divisiveness -- and they have used that skill for
seven years to get their way.
Thankfully, it appears that tactic is having less success these days,
as more and more Americans have grown weary of it.
Hopefully, on this Fourth of July, many Americans will be infected
instead with the spirit of courage and inspiration that resided at the
heart of the American Revolution.
And hopefully, that spirit will carry forward as the United States
strives to regain the moral leadership and glowing image it so long
held in the world.
Is it fair that George W. Bush has commuted the prison term of the
administration's fall guy from their obvious campaign to discredit
anyone opposed to the invasion of Iraq?
Of course not.
There are doubtless hundreds or even thousands of less privileged
convicted criminals whose sentences are far more harsh and unfair than
Scooter Libby's.
But that is not the lesson of this Fourth of July.
Rather, the lesson is that each of us needs to reflect on our role in
this great democracy -- and to vow that we will never again let an
administration lead our country so far astray.
________________________________________________
Harry
Jul 04 2007
Lesson for the Fourth of July
It is perhaps fitting, in an ironic sort of way, that President George
W. Bush freed Scooter Libby virtually on the eve of America's
Independence Day.
It is fitting because Bush's commuting Libby's 2 1/2-year prison
sentence in the CIA leak case falls into the consistently appalling
White House pattern of exuding arrogance and resisting accountability
for its actions.
It is ironic because the president's transparently political action in
setting free Vice President Dick Cheney's former chief of staff falls
as far away as possible on the idealism spectrum from the inspiration
and sense of hope represented by our forefathers' courageous actions
231 years ago.
The Fourth of July has always ranked high on my list of favorite
holidays.
Not because of the fireworks, not because it's a day off from work.
I celebrate the holiday because I admire the men and women who risked
their lives to free the American colonies from the tyranny of England.
I admire the men who had the courage to write and sign the Declaration
of Independence, the document that gave voice to the desires of
Americans who wanted their own nation.
I am forever indebted, as are all Americans, to those who made it
possible for us to live in the greatest country in the world, just as
we are indebted to the men and women in uniform who have fought to
retain what our forefathers accomplished with their historic efforts.
I'm a longtime fan of the musical "1776," and every time I see it I am
inspired by the vision and bravery of the men who created the
Declaration of Independence.
I am proud to say I love my country, and I am not shy about expressing
my anger and disdain for what the Bush-Cheney-Rove Administration has
done to it over the past nearly seven years.
The damage done -- to our reputation in the world, to our own
self-image, to our fiscal well-being, to our Constitutional rights, to
our national security, to the brave soldiers who have died or been
seriously injured in the ill-fated war in Iraq -- speaks for itself.
The Bush Administration will go down in history as one of the most
incompetent and least accomplished of all time.
Fortunately, at least in the eyes of three-quarters of the American
people, the reign of George W. Bush is entering its final stages.
And in January 2009, a new president -- in concert with the American
people -- will have the opportunity to raise this country from the
lows to which it has fallen under Bush, Cheney and Rove.
But as deplorable as the past seven years have been, all of the blame
does not fall on George W. Bush, or his autocratic vice president, or
his "political brain."
Much of the responsibility for America finding itself where it is
today -- in a quagmire in Iraq, in a mountain of debt, in a country
more and more divided between rich and poor, as a nation that failed
miserably in the wake of Katrina -- lies with the American people
themselves.
The United States has traveled down the wrong path for several years
now.
But the American people -- voters, political leaders, the media, you
name it -- have allowed it to happen.
After Sept. 11, 2001, the Bush Administration portrayed as unpatriotic
anyone who dared to disagree with it on any issue -- and a very high
percentage of Americans backed right down instead of standing up for
what they knew was right.
Bush, Cheney and Rove have proven themselves very good at one thing --
creating fear and divisiveness -- and they have used that skill for
seven years to get their way.
Thankfully, it appears that tactic is having less success these days,
as more and more Americans have grown weary of it.
Hopefully, on this Fourth of July, many Americans will be infected
instead with the spirit of courage and inspiration that resided at the
heart of the American Revolution.
And hopefully, that spirit will carry forward as the United States
strives to regain the moral leadership and glowing image it so long
held in the world.
Is it fair that George W. Bush has commuted the prison term of the
administration's fall guy from their obvious campaign to discredit
anyone opposed to the invasion of Iraq?
Of course not.
There are doubtless hundreds or even thousands of less privileged
convicted criminals whose sentences are far more harsh and unfair than
Scooter Libby's.
But that is not the lesson of this Fourth of July.
Rather, the lesson is that each of us needs to reflect on our role in
this great democracy -- and to vow that we will never again let an
administration lead our country so far astray.
________________________________________________
Harry