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July 9, 2006
Do You Like George Bush?
I got a spam email a little while ago that asked me only one question and offered me a chance to get $500.00 if I participated. I didn't participate.
But I did think about that one question. "Do you like George Bush?" The possible answers were only "yes" or "no." Aside from the fact that I never respond to spam of any type, I have a problem with this question. I don't know George Bush. I know many of his opinions; I hear and read them in the news. For the same reason I know some of the things he has done as President. I disagree with many of his opinions and much of what he has done. I wish he had not been elected President. I believe that many of his administration's actions are immoral and they have represented my country as an immoral country. But I have, or at least I should have, no feeling of liking him or disliking him because. As I said, I don't know him beyond these superficial reports.
Questions like this and the ubiquitous question from the 2000 presidential election that carried over to the 2004 election with only a minor change, "Who would you rather have a beer with, Bush or Gore?" tend to obscure the real political issues we face.
My brother, who I like, agrees with President Bush on almost every point where I disagree with him. I wouldn't vote for my brother to be President. But I enjoy being around him. He's often a lot of fun. I'm looking forward to seeing him this week but my liking him has nothing to do with politics. There was once a guy that I worked with who held almost exactly the same political views as I have. I couldn't stand the guy. I actively tried to avoid him. While I'm not sure I would be too thrilled to vote for him for President, he would get my vote if he ran against my brother.
I cannot help but believe that putting these issues on the level of personal likings or dislikings is one of the reasons that we feel the intense divisions in our national and even local political life. If we talk about the issues and try to avoid gossiping about people we don't know, perhaps we will not only get along a little better but we might will find reconciliation on some of the issues.
Posted by Duane Smith at July 9, 2006 4:05 PM | Read more on Current Events |
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