Hello Diary, it's me again...
The Effexor just isn't doing the trick anymore. Prozac is good, but then I can't get it up. When I take it, I'm not depressed, but I'm not happy either, if you know what I mean. I quit drinking two months ago today, because being drunk all the time wasn't helping either, damn it.
Yep, things sure seem hopeless sometimes. When I open the paper or hop in the web, or when get in the car and turn on NPR, or when I hear folks at the office talking to each other...
When I see our leaders at work, I just lose hope. Best case scenario, will it be possible to recover from four years of hurtling down the path to destruction? Does anybody else feel like this?
The current administration does nothing in half-measures. The Bush Doctrine consists of four simple steps:
- Find a problem. (If no problem exists, create one.)
- Come up with a ridiculously rosy but highly unlikely solution to the problem that will:
a. Make all other potential solutions impossible to pursue.
b. Appeal to the baser aspects of human nature.
c. Line your pockets.
- Plunge headlong into that difficult situation while simultaneously burning the bridge behind you (and the one in front of you if you can manage it.)
- If the plan fails, start over... but now you can skip step 1!
The immense costs of this doctrine are both obvious and unfathomable. You don't think that's possible, Diary, but it is. Many of the incredible advances that this country has made over the last half-century have been undone in less than three years. They have been undone, and indeed, the bridges have been burned.
The ally is the now the Foe-- the foe, an Ally.
We've already said goodbye to our civil rights. We have taken the first steps down the slippery slope to what extensive research on dictionary.com reveals to be a plutocratic dictatorship. This is not anti-Bush rhetoric, this is an assessment of the state of what lies before us.
The patriot is now the Bastard-- the bastard, a Patriot.
Who can read the claptrap at the Project for a New American Century Web Site without becoming alarmed? Who can read about the Project for a New American Quagmire without becoming utterly frightened at Bush's 50%+ approval ratings? Why isn't he down to 20% yet? Are people that stupid? Does the media have that much influence over them? The answer, of course Diary, is a resounding yes.
The truth is now the Lie-- the lies are the Truth.
You've heard me talk about the lady that said she had to believe in George Bush. She makes me sad. I want to take the last little bit of hope that she has and crush it in my hand, because her hope is misplaced. George Bush garners the faith of these simple Americans and turns it into a sad joke. These people are not bad people, they are folks who wanted to believe in something... in the myth of George Bush the Christian... George Bush the Uniter... George Bush the Compassionate Conservative.
Traitor: One who betrays. The word is tossed about with reckless abandon.
Today comes the news of Harry Reid's patriotic filibuster and George Soros' generous contribution to MoveOn.org. We also hear reports of Clark volunteers aiding a Dean volunteer that was being harassed by conservative students in Arkansas. Talk about your "silver dollars in a mudhole."
Wow. All in one day.
I try to tell myself that the one way to ensure a Bush victory in '04 is to lose hope. I try not to think about how parts of Canada are actually quite beautiful and green. I have an image in my mind's eye... an image of George Bush delivering his concession speech next year. I shut my eyes tight and I hold that image in my mind for as long as I can.
The one constant in my life right now is the solid belief that the 2004 election will be a landslide. What changes each day is which side I think is going to win. Some days, I look at my beautiful nine-year-old daughter and the brightest hope in my heart is that I can somehow get her into Canada before it all comes down. Other days, I look at her and I just know that she's gonna be part of what will make America great again... someday.