Farewell, 2005
Tonight we bid farewell to 2005, and I for one can't honestly say that I'll be sad to see it go. OK, OK, that feeling of utter despair I felt in January at the thought of four more years under the reign of George the Younger has been replaced by a glimmer of hope that the President's ineptitude and hubris may finally have caught up with him, and that the events of the past twelve months might just bring about his Administration's early departure.
But it's still just a glimmer.
Nevertheless, I won't belabor the litany of mistakes, corruption, hypocrisy, cronyism, and overall mismanagement that accurately characterizes the Bush White House and most of Congress. To do so would only cast a pall over what should be a day of celebration and (when that glittering ball drops at the stroke of twelve) an optimistic feeling of starting anew. And if you simply must relive that list of government missteps, just scroll down a bit further on this page.
So, instead, I think I'll keep within the spirit of the New Year, and offer a short collection of resolutions (as if you didn't have enough already!) that we all should make in calendar 2006 - for the reclamation of the American soul, if nothing else:
Happy New Year, everyone.
But it's still just a glimmer.
Nevertheless, I won't belabor the litany of mistakes, corruption, hypocrisy, cronyism, and overall mismanagement that accurately characterizes the Bush White House and most of Congress. To do so would only cast a pall over what should be a day of celebration and (when that glittering ball drops at the stroke of twelve) an optimistic feeling of starting anew. And if you simply must relive that list of government missteps, just scroll down a bit further on this page.
So, instead, I think I'll keep within the spirit of the New Year, and offer a short collection of resolutions (as if you didn't have enough already!) that we all should make in calendar 2006 - for the reclamation of the American soul, if nothing else:
GET INVOLVED. No, I'm not suggesting that you drop your lucrative career and run for City Council. But resolve to write a short note to your elected representatives every month. Your Governor. The White House. Your Senator. A pesky Congressman from another state.Have a safe, healthy, wonderful New Year's Eve, whatever revelry you have planned for later. Hold your loved ones close, and wish a stranger well. Hope for peace, tolerance, and equality. And try to remember, even after that second bottle of bubbly, that there's demonstrable logic behind the ideas of designated drivers and protected sex!
Let the government know that you're paying attention. Demand to be heard about education, about health care, about women's reproductive rights, about the environment, about the economy. After all, the American democracy is ours to guide and defend. So use it - or lose it.
STAY INFORMED. There's no tactful way to say it - we're becoming a nation of blissful dunces, a society that in the last 10 years has "made no improvement in (its) ability to read newspapers or books, or comprehend basic forms." [WaPo 12/25] So read, America. Read newspapers, read commentary, read magazines, read books, read something. Don't base your entire world view on a few moments of perfunctory attention paid to Sean Hannity or Jon Stewart.
Pick up one of Doris Kearns Goodwin's incredible tomes, or 1776 by David McCullough. I'll always believe that education is the key to the world's ills - and being informed might even teach you the correct pronunciation of "nuclear" to boot.
VALUE CIVILITY. Or, as the great philosophers Bill and Ted once summarized so brilliantly, "Be excellent to each other." Pledge to drop one derogatory attack-word from your vocabulary this year, and help to elevate the level of political discourse from that of a Junior High School playground brawl.
For my liberal compatriots, might I suggest losing the word "fascist" when describing our ideological opponents. As stubborn and misguided as we believe our Right-leaning fellow citizens to be, this ain't 1938 Berlin! And to my Conservative friends, I offer the term "traitor" for ritual sacrifice. When that term is incorrectly applied to Liberals who are fighting for your rights too, it really hurts - and it reminds us what fascists you can be when you want to!
STOP USING THE PHRASE "WAR ON TERROR". C'mon, get real. There is no "war", except in a metaphorical sense similar to our supposed "War on Drugs". And don't get me wrong. The events of 9/11 were a horrific act that occurred just a few blocks from my New York office, and claimed the lives of two close friends. So I know there's a serious need to respond to international terrorism. And I mourn and respect the very real sacrifices made by the families of our troops that have been killed or wounded overseas.
But by collectively acquiescing to the Administration's claim that we are engaged in an open-ended (and undeclared, by Congress at least) "war", we've enabled this Administration's insidious plan to manipulate us through a constant campaign of fear-mongering, to invade a nation unprovoked, to excuse torture and babarity, and to exploit the "We're at war, damn you" gambit to steal our civil rights from under our compliant noses. So wake up, America - and stop with the rote repetition of White House talking points.
BROADEN YOUR HORIZONS. We've seen the results of an overly insulated world view, played out by the Bush Administration over the last five years. So free your mind in 2006, and let some other opinions in. Travel, and expose yourself to a new culture. If you're on the Left, spend an hour watching O'Reilly. If you're leaning Right, pick up the New York Times once a week. Learn some basic phrases in a foreign language. Go to a museum, a symphony - and a rock concert. Celebrate the marvelous diversity that is life on this planet.
Happy New Year, everyone.
posted by Bob P @ 2:45 PM
7 Comments:
Nice.
Happy New Year to you!
Revision to earlier comment:
Your write so brilliantly -- for a liberal.... remember your conservative roots.
With love -- your gun-totin', bible-readin', ford F150 drivin', flag wavin' cousin Becky (writing somewhere deep within NASCAR nation).
Bob P. you have conservative roots? I never would have guessed. Your writing is so sensible and easy to follow I never even considered the possibility.
Yes, TA, Mom and Dad were dyed-in-the-wool Eisenhower/Nixon Republicans. Dad turned away from the Party in '64 - I guess Goldwater was a little too much too swallow. Mom held out until '96, when Gingrich and Company grew a bit shrill for her tastes - and after her second-oldest son had won his first political race as a Liberal Democrat in a decidedly conservative bastion of the U.S..
And to my amazement, she's now become an outspoken opponent of the GOP, and an advocate for the impeachment and imprisonment of the Bush Administration!
I'll only say in my "defense" that, like all good children of the '60s, I completely rejected any admiration for the Party of Nixon and Quayle, as far back as I can remember. And even while he was still a Republican, Dad's best friends were an openly gay Professor and an African-American co-worker, and he constantly reminded all of us that a man's worth has nothing to do with his religion, his lifestyle, or the color of his skin - not exactly GOP talking points in the mid '60s. We learned this long before such friendships were fashionable - and in fact were somewhat dangerous, as we boys discovered in numerous neighborhood confrontations.
He also opposed the Vietnam war, and worked tirelessly until his death on programs designed to lessen the tensions between police and young people in America, teaching, writing, and lecturing around the country.
Regardless of the parents' Party affiliations, the primary guiding principles in my household were tolerance, pragmatism, education, and charity - with a large dollop of common sense overriding all! While my GOP cousin may feel she has "outed" me, I'm going to return the jibe and expose her as one of the few "liberal" Republicans left in her area. If only there were more individuals like her leading the Conservative Party with a good heart, a common sense approach to the world, and an overall attitude of tolerance, fairness, and compassion, our struggles in America wouldn't be so insurmountable - or half as bitter.
Have faith, TA. I've colored those "roots" with a proudly Liberal hue for over 35 years, and I'm not about to change now!
Oh, and Becky - you'll get yours soon enough! :-)
Touche' dear cuz.
Oh and by the way...
Sisters Weird and Brothers Grim all give a very hardy hello to you and yours in this new year!
"Nevertheless, I won't belabor the litany of mistakes, corruption, hypocrisy, cronyism, and overall mismanagement that accurately characterizes the Bush White House and most of Congress."
I would imagine that it would make pretty thin gruel. List me all the GOP figures that have been indicted or have resigned in disgrace these past five years, for example. By contrast, the Clinton years were a rich field.
To Francis Porretto,
Funny how the only retort Bush apologists consistently turn to (besides "Liberals hate America") is, "Well, Clinton did..."
I assume, of course, you're talking about the same Bill Clinton under whose Administration the country enjoyed unparalelled prosperity. The same Bill Clinton who kept America from being attacked by terrorists for 8 years. The President who kept Sadaam contained, stopped ethnic cleansing in the Balkans without the loss of one American life, and built the modernized military that you're so proud of for its "victories" in Afghanistan and Iraq.
That would be the same Bill Clinton who advised the incoming Bush Administration of the importance of al Qaeda (which your boy ignored until the Twin Towers fell, by the way.) The same Bill Clinton that appointed the best and brightest to head FEMA, to run the Justice Department, instead of turning to political cronies unqualified for their respective positions.
The same Bill Clinton who was admired and respected throughout the world, instead of being reviled and feared like our current Cowboy in Chief. I could go on, but even you should get the point.
As for that "thin gruel", it simply amazes me that Conservatives of your ilk flat out refuse to acknowledge the verifiable mistakes, lies, and crimes of this Administration. Of course, it shouldn't be all that surprising to me, when I see from your blog site that you're an admirer of Ann Coulter. That pretty much says it all.
Too bad that you can't comprehend that this Administration threatens your rights, your economic security, your safety from harm as well, and that those of us who see the Bush White House for what it is are the true defenders of this once proud nation. I assume that this message will fall on deaf ears, and that too is a shame.
And as for a "list" of those indicted, fired, forced to resign: of course there's no list as of yet. How would there be, when the foxes are the ones guarding the chicken coop. Oh, I could mention Libby and DeLay and Frist, but I'm certain you'd claim that they are just innocent victims of a vast Liberal conspiracy. The once rational GOP has become a Borg Collective, that refuses to break ranks and under no circumstances is willing to even investigate the malfeasance of fellow Party members. What kind of a list do you expect, when the inmates are running the asylum?
Despite all that, I still wish you and yours a Happy New Year. That's the difference between Liberals and reactionaries of your stripe. And I hope you'll pay attention to resolution number five, and let a few undisputed facts in this year, something besides the distortions fed to you by Coulter and Hannity and Dobson and Robertson and Limbaugh - yes, and even Bush himself.
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