There are a great number of terrible things in the world. This is nothing new, and it is likely to remain that way. I can accept that, because I know that there are also many wonderful things, and I am fortunate enough in my life that those tend to outnumber the terrible things. I live in the best part of the world (North America), my family is healthy and happy, I have a great job, and I have everything I need (though not everything I want).
I feel that being so fortunate comes with the responsibility to a) extend prosperity to those who are less fortunate, and b) preserve opportunity for future generations. I would like to think that this sentiment is echoed in the minds of most people in the developed world, especially those founded on "Christian values".
Alas, it is becoming apparent to me that having true concern for others less fortunate is the defining difference between being a liberal and being a conservative. This might be an over-dramatization to some extent, or maybe it's just old news. But I simply don't understand how conservatives can respond with only apathy (at best) to some of the terrible things happening at this time.
I work in a neonatal intensive care unit. It's a high-stakes place, and all of us carry out our daily duties knowing that it is inevitable that we will make mistakes, no matter how careful we are or how many checks and balances are established. We know that without our care, all of these babies would die; but those rare mistakes that cause harm are absolutely devastating to us, even if it was not our personal error. When they occur, we 'fess up, pick up the pieces, examine the facts, fix the system, and vow not to let them happen again. It's all we can do.
I imagine that being a leader, such as a president or senator, comes with a similar burden. Your actions, for better or worse, affect many people in many ways, and others suffer when you are wrong. The world is a complex place, where you sometimes have to choose the lesser of two evils, and I do not envy those who have to make such decisions. I can only hope that when those in power fuck up, they are held accountable, just as myself and my colleagues are.
Sadly, this is generally not how the world works, and absolutely not how the Bush administration works. For the past eight years, I have become increasingly horrified at what is happening under the most powerful government in the world:
Death of Americans, due to failure to heed the warnings on 9/11. Death, displacement, and hardship of Afghans, due to revenge. Loss of rights and freedoms, due to fear. Death, displacement, and hardship of Iraqis, due to "failure of intelligence". Untold consequences due to torture of detainees. Death, displacement, and hardship of Americans, due to colossal incompetency following Hurricane Katrina. Widening of the rich-poor gap, due to greed. Economic meltdown, due to greed. Death of Americans, due to neglect of the health care system. Accelerated environmental degradation due to ignorance and greed.
I'm sure there are many more atrocities, but I am already sick to my stomach just listing those. Each is the tip of its own vile iceberg of corruption, and does not do any justice to the depth and breadth of the harm it has brought to millions of innocent people.
And for what? So the disgustingly wealthy could become more so? To increase the fortunes of the most fortunate at the great expense of the least fortunate?
For money? Human life for fucking money?
George W. Bush is a horrible person, either for being inexplicably ignorant or for simply masquerading as such. I don't understand how he lives with himself. Ditto for Cheney and the rest of the administration. They have made a multitude of mistakes of epic proportions that have caused enormous amounts of suffering; but if they even realize that, they do not acknowledge it. They do not apologize, or analyze, or try to glean the tiniest of lessons from it. Instead, they ignore it or try to justify it, because in the end, they are just looking out for themselves.
The evidence is everywhere. Not only has the internet documented and preserved all of the administration's mistakes, but the world is displaying the unmistakable results. The precious money machine propped up by the manipulation of power crashes to the ground, and we are all suffering.
The liberal left has been alienated for its outrage - its arguments smeared as unpatriotic and nothing more than partisan grumbling. But we're right, and we know it.
What I don't understand is why there is absolutely no outrage from the conservatives. This man campaigned on promises to keep the country safe and to increase the prosperity of America. Half of the voters believed him and voted for him, and unfortunately he was granted the power to govern. So, why aren't they angry at what he's done with the authority they have given him?
Do they not know? Do they really have that much trust in government that they do not bother to check in on what they're doing? Can they not be bothered to seek out information?
Do they not understand? Can they not connect the dots and see the overall picture? Is the truth so tainted by Fox News and Rush Limbaugh that they do not even have an inkling that there is a dark side to the information they are being sold?
Or do they just not care? Do they fully realize the extent of harm that's being done, but somehow justify it like their leader? Do they just thank God that they're doing better than others?
The information is out there, and it's hard to imagine that a thoughtful, caring person could not access it and understand it. So, that must mean that for the most part, they do not care. Or they care, but prioritize loyalty to a political party over actually holding their leaders responsible. In other words, they would rather defend a corrupt Republican than admit that the Democrats were right, just on principle. I guess it's a "trickle-down" idea from the Republican leadership.
Recently, when a NICU in a Los Angeles hospital administered an incorrect amount of heparin to the twin babies of an actor. A great many people called for the nurse to be fired and sued, the hospital to be sued, the drug company to be sued. There must be accountability! People must pay for their mistakes! Unions are evil because they create lazy workers that make mistakes! I would venture a guess that at least some of those people are conservatives. If they had so much rage over one mistake that ended up causing reversible harm, how can they not even question the mistakes of the man they elected to office?
I don't understand. The base of the Republican platform is built on Christianity, but the true teachings of Christ are trampled in their quest for wealth. How can one profess a superior morality over non-Christians, yet not care about the suffering of others? How can they preach about "the sanctity of life", yet ignore the deaths of millions? How can they praise God but watch while the earth he created gets violated?
I don't understand. How can they look around and not see the devastation caused their leader? How can they not at least question what he's doing when people are dying, the economy is crumbling, and the environment is rotting? How can they not be angry at what he's done?
My heart aches every day. When I think of all the people who have endured unspeakable pain and hardship because of the mistakes of the Bush administration, I become so full of anger that I want to scream. When I see pictures from Iraq or 9/11 or New Orleans, I feel the despair in my soul. These atrocities should never have been allowed to happen in our lifetime, but they did because a large portion of the population becomes completely apathetic after their votes are cast.
I find some comfort in the diaries of Kossacks who have similar views and are doing something about it. I also thank every deity in the history of religion that the best chance for redemption is heading to the White House on January 20th.
We must hold conservatives accountable for their votes. They supported this leadership blindly and unwaveringly, and thus enabled this disaster. Indeed, recent polls show that conservatives give Bush an approval rating of over 70%! It is unacceptable that they not be forced to take an honest look at their president and hold him accountable for his crimes.
In order for humanity to heal and make amends for the mistakes of the past eight years, we have to all recognize - across borders and the political spectrum - that we are in this together. We must acknowledge, analyze, apologize, fix, and move forward. We have to look out for those less fortunate; put more value on human life and less on human wealth.