TruthDefender's Journal: American Goosepimples

It seems with the election getting closer, it is hard to avoid political commercials. I see Kerry attacking Bush for lying about wepons in Iraq and starting a "wrong/unjust" war. I see Bush attacking Kerry for throwing away his medals during the Vietnam War and being a liar regarding his service.

I don't remember when it happened. I know I did not watch the olympics often this year, and I did not root for the USA Basketball team like I had in the past. There was a time when I had awe for the USA, where seeing a fighter jet show would fill me with pride. I remember seeing Top Gun in the 1980's and being filled with pride. I wanted to be a fighter jet pilot and defend our aircraft carriers against communist MIG jets. But lately there is nothing American which gives me goosepimples. Not even Alan Iverson and Tim Duncan could get the patriotic feeling pumping through my body.

So I wondered what had changed in my heart where I did not feel the pride that every person feels about their country. What changed the past 20 years in the USA? I came to the conclusion it is our politics which changed.

Let me explain. It is not their policies, and it is not who they are. It is how they attack their opponents that has changed. I might be wrong, but I think it started with Gingrich. I remember him being the first republican who had an "I'm right, they're wrong attitued" compounded with "I don't make friends with people who are wrong and lesser than I". I think he despised democrats, and started the political election revolution, by attacking candidates rather than their policy or ideas. And Gingrich was very successful, and other politicians followed suit.

And now with Iraq, many Americans, far too many, are not behind our president or troops. Some think the war is immoral, other think it is unjust, and some think we were lied to but have to finish the job. Most think it is a dirty war, and believe in some innuendo of wrong doing by the Bush administration, be it Cheneys association with Haliburton or there is an oil conspiracy. Everyone thinks something, but few believe we did it for altruistic purposes. I think I believe Colin Powell, when he said he never lied, gave the best possible and most truthfull analysis he had.

What gives me the most worry is how will Americans be without patriotic pride. How will we live when the Timmothy McVieghs of the world think they are just and correct in domestic terrorism. It is not like back in the 80's, when the worst we could expect is some group with signs protesting. Now we have groups that want to disrupt economic meeting, throw paint on fur fashion shows, and cause havoc becuase they believe they are right and everyone else is wrong. Did they forget they are Americans first, and whatever disagreement they have of policy, that their object of attack is fellow Americans? This seems to be a more dangerous time for us than ever before. The people who wish us harm are our fellow citizens.

When Ronald Reagan said "Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall", my heart swelled with emotion and pride. But we have changed. I hope that we can get back to how it was, the feeling of pride that we can all share. But I think it will require more civility and restraint by our politicians. They lead us, they set an example. I think I will vote for Bush this time around, as a sign that attacking our Presidency by innuendo and half truths is unacceptable. The polarization of politics must end, and I believe Bush will do more to that end than Kerry.

Welcome to the U. S. of DeLay.

[mooredav]

Poor Bush has it so rough. The left shoots a steady stream of negativity like a firehose.

On the other hand, you should try being a liberal for a while. Or even just a Democrat. If the left is a firehose, then the right is Niagara falls... and I don't mean "beautiful and majestic". I mean like I'm drowning at the bottom of it.

There is a reason why I'm partisan.

That reason is not because I'm a pro-terrorist, America-hatin' liberal who just loves to see the U.S. fail. It's not because I'm reponsible for

Re:Welcome to the U. S. of DeLay.

[TruthDefender]

I just want our system to get back to civility. When an election is over, the other party should respect the office of president and work for the nation, not for their own partisan political advantages. It feels like the amount of governing politicians do is less than the amount of political game playing they do. That is my complaint. And everyone is becomming more polarized. I don't remember democrats hating Ronald Reagan or even George Bush Sr. And I think Reagan invaded more countries than George W. Bush

Re:Welcome to the U. S. of DeLay.

[mooredav]

"I just want our system to get back to civility. When an election is over, the other party should respect the office of president and work for the nation, not for their own partisan political advantages."

I agree, but it's not just the minority party that has a responsibility to be cooperative. The president has a role too.

One way to avoid attacking each other is to compromise. That is what politicians should do to keep politics civil and productive. Unfortunately, the Bush administration and its allies