Let's condemn MC Rove
As though the Democrats were little children whose actions needed to be reformed, corrected. As though the Republicans can condescendingly say to us as a group, "Now, now, let's not be too hasty." And for the New York Times to call the tension between Republicans and Democrats "chiding," that's unacceptable! The article itself starts off well: "WASHINGTON, April 24 — President Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney aggressively challenged the motives of Congressional Democrats on Tuesday, as the House and Senate prepared to consider a war spending bill that would order troops to be withdrawn from Iraq beginning later this year" (here).
That's better wording. "Aggressively challenged" implies equal footing between the conflicting parties, whereas "chiding" implies a parent and a child, a correction to a mistake. The Republicans are in no way paternalistically correcting the Democrats' "mistake" of wanting to withdraw troops - there is no mistake, and even if it were a mistake to want to end a war that's accomplishing nothing, it would be the Democrats' right under the First Amendment to voice their opinion. No one has the right to "chide" us, no one has the right to assume they're taking the higher path and that those against the war are taking the lower. This is a tactic that the Bush Administration has used again and again over the last six years, to assume that they're right and that everyone else is wrong, and to approach every situation with that assumption. Cheney, especially, implies quite masterfully with his impressive use of praeteritio that his opponents are wrong, not only because they're Democratic, but because they're subversively undermining America, and because they believe in killing fetuses. In other words, not a fair battle, because he's taking away his opponents' arguments whilst labeling them as baby-killers who want to destroy the convention of marriage, and uninformed Americans will assume that the opponent is the bad guy. In the same way, to speak condescendingly and treat the Democrats like children is to attempt to convey to the American people that the Democrats are a badly behaved, subversive political group. And I find that genuinely disgusting. So, simply as a matter of respect, let's not ever use the word "chide" in conjunction with politics.
But as long as we're on the subject of criticizing political choices... MC Rove? This act is cannot even be chided. Chiding is good-natured, but watching Rove make a joke of himself, of the administration (which has already made a joke of itself far too many times in the past six years), and of his and other politicians' responsibility during a WAR made me feel anything BUT good-natured... I was offended, I was humiliated, and most of all I was disgusted. How is it that such twisted, megalomaniacal politicians can be representing us right now? As Barack Obama begins to gain such sweeping (and well-deserved!) support, I feel a wave of hope, and also of total, blind LOVE for everyone else who is supporting him, and beginning to become involved and interested in politics again. For the past six years politics have been repulsive and dominated by sleazy war-makers who don't care about the people, who are interested neither in us nor in capturing our interest. So now that Obama is inviting people to get involved again, to CARE about things again, about politics and our future and being a unified country that is NOT mired in a war, it's refreshing. It's wonderfully refreshing not to feel apathetic.
I must admit I've never seen anything quite so painful as MC Rove's lovely show, but nevertheless whenever I see anything awful or humiliating within the Bush Administration, I just close my eyes and silently remind myself, "Two more years.... Two more years..."
It's getting excitingly close!
Labels: politics
posted by Holly @ 3:58 PM
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