It is little surprise that George Bush would kick off his latest pathetic effort to defend his Iraq policy in front of a policy group of George Washington University, a university administration that is themselves drunk with power and which devours the lives of people who need help and understanding. We know all of the chief examples of how Bush is drunk with power, including the illegal wiretaps that have led to Senator Feingold introducing a censure resolution.
But what you don't know is that the administration of George Washington University, the institution at which Bush spoke, is similarly drunk with power and who thinks that human lives are expendable and who would also deny people who are less fortunate or different the right to participate as a complete and open member of society. Jordan Nott, a student whose roommate got depression and committed suicide, went to the mental health center and sought help for his own depression. But someone told the administration, who expelled him -- just because he had depression.
Not only that, Nott was not allowed back on campus to retrieve his possessions. Had he done so, the university threatened to slap criminal trespassing charges against him; his family had to go and get them. So, not only did they not let him get his possessions, they made a blatant attempt to steal his possessions. This is every bit as bad as the culture of corruption of the Bush administration -- see what you can get away without actually breaking the law. I have been around people with depression. If he had been in an incoherent enough state of mind, or if he had not had a strong and supportive family, the university would have taken his stuff and sold it off to make a quick buck.
Furthermore, notice another parallel:
Furthermore, I am concerned with the fact that someone saw fit to inform administrators of Jordan's condition. This means that an employee at the university in charge of mental health care (or simply someone else with access to the records) spread his information. This person devalued human life in the best interests of a school's reputation as well.
Medical records are a person's private business. Yet this university has a culture of corruption in which they think they have the power to snoop on someone's private records -- just because they say they do. I wonder who that reminds me of who just got a censureship resolution introduced against him just for that exact thing. Therefore, it is very appropriate that George Bush went to George Washington University to defend the War in Iraq. We know that he will only speak to crowds who share his values. And Bush and GWU fit like peas in a pod -- they both oppose the right to privacy that is enshrined in the Constitution, they both have a culture of corruption, and they both think that human lives are expendable.
And everything Bush said about Iraq today was so appropriate to the setting. First of all, he said that we should not lose our nerve. He is a living example of this. He has a lot of nerve going to one of the most dictatorial universities in the country to promote his policies. No wonder his poll numbers continue to tank -- he continues to play right into our hands by hobnobbing with people just as crooked as he is. I wonder if this should ever get into the SCLM if he will deny any kind of associations with GWU like he is now with his old chum Jack Abramoff. He thinks people are testing his resolve and actually force him to answer questions before a hostile audience. But he is sure standing firm in that regard.
Then, he talked about the need to reach out across sectarian lines. Well, even Bush knows his war in Iraq is failing. So, he is a living example of this. So, he is reaching out like a used-car salesman and see if the good people of the administration at GWU will fall even deeper into their lust for power and control and form a unity effort with him. But seriously, he recently confliated the people fighting among themselves with the terrorists. If you conflate some of the key players in the political process with the terrorists, then you are spouting a bunch of animal noises as far as I am concerned when you flip-flop and call for unity.
And finally, Bush used Iran as an excuse for his failures in Iraq. A sure sign that a war is failing is when the leader starts making excuses for his own failures. When the end of the Bush administration finally comes, though impeachment or after three more years of lame duck status, two things will be totally clear in Bush's mind -- he was the most misunderstood man in his life, and somebody else was always responsible for his failure in Iraq. And so for him to cry on the shoulders of the GUW administration, who is similarly the most misunderstood university administration in their own minds is totally appropriate.
The fact that George Bush could come to George Washington University and not say one word about this situation means that by his silence, he was complicit in their discriminatory practices and their predatory behavior. In so doing, he has pronounced judgement on himself. I think somewhere someone once said that nations that were silent about terrorism were just as guilty as nations that practiced it or harbored it. Not only that, that same person said that this was a fight against good and evil. If we as a country accept that discrimination is evil and wrong, and we go by Bush's rationale that we should not sit on the fence in the face of evil, then he is guilty of selective interpretation of his own standards of behavior.
As Democrats, we believe that all human life is sacred. That means that the quality of life is just as important as the fact that there is life. That means treating all people equally, regardless of race, religion, sexual orientation, or medical history. People who have mental health problems have just as much right to participate in our society and get themselves an education as anybody else does. If we do not stand up and say that this is wrong, then we will betray the values of our Constitution, which was based on the nation that all people are equal.
In order to enhance the quality of life for mental health patients, any kind of universal health care, regardless of whether the states or the government administers it, should include all mental health patients as well as physical health patients. We would work with mental health patients, not against them like GWU is or stay silent like George Bush did. Most mental illnesses are treatable and such people can and do get restored to a state of wholeness.
Since medical records are a student's private right and nobody else should have access to their records or invade their privacy, we need to insist that a person's mental health records get treated by health care professionals with the same kind of regard and respect that physical health records get treated. There is a stigma among many families about mental illness. Among many people, it is so great that they will lie about a loved one's status in order to conceal the fact that they have a mental illness or that they suffered a relapse. The way to reverse this is to create an environment in which people are encouraged to come forward and talk about their mental illness. When this happens, the stigma will be reduced and more people will come out of the woodworks to get help. A side benefit is that crime will drop because many crimes are committed by people who are mentally ill and who have not gotten the help and treatment that they need.