A tragic legacy: How a good vs. evil mentality destroyed the Bush presidency.

c.dric · 06-20-2007

Excerpt from Glenn Greenwald's upcoming book :
A tragic legacy: How a good vs. evil mentality destroyed the Bush presidency.

Quote:

[...]the great and tragic irony of the Bush presidency is that its morally convicted foundations have yielded some of the most morally grotesque acts and radical departures from American values in our country's history. The president who insists that he is driven by a clear and compelling moral framework, in which the forces of Good and Evil battle toward a decisive resolution, has done more than almost any American in history to make the world question on which side of that battle this country is fighting. The more convinced President Bush and his followers become of the unchallengeable righteousness of their cause, the fewer limits they recognize. And America's moral standing in the world, and our national character, continue to erode to previously unthinkable depths.

[...]

That is the essence of virtually every argument Bush supporters make regarding terrorism. No matter what objection is raised to the never-ending expansions of executive power, no matter what competing values are touted (due process, the rule of law, the principles our country embodies, how we are perceived around the world), the response will always be that The Terrorists are waging war against us and our overarching priority -- one that overrides all others -- is to protect ourselves, to triumph over Evil. By definition, then, there can never be any good reason to oppose vesting powers in the government to protect us from The Terrorists because that goal outweighs all others.

[...]

Imagine George Bush present during pre-founding debates over the Constitution. Is there any doubt that he or Dick Cheney or Alberto Gonzales would have argued in opposition to proposed Fourth Amendment restrictions on police powers by stressing that violent criminals can kill our children, that we must do everything to protect ourselves against Evil, and that those who favor search warrant requirements for the police are "pro-murderer"? And surely the Constitutional Convention would have been subjected to this argument: "If you're not doing anything wrong in your home, what do you have to hide from the police?" [...]

(read whole article)

yaaarrrgg · 06-21-2007

FWIW, I have a friend who works in the mental health profession, helping people with addiction problems. She stated that Bush's black and white mentality isn't so much from a moral foundation, as much as Bush's former drinking problems. He was an alcoholic, and simply stopped one day. This is known as a "dry drunk" ... when people avoid treatment, and think "recovery == not drinking."

Here's an article on the same topic:
Katherine van Wormer: Bush and Dry Drunk Syndrome

06-21-2007	#2 (permalink)
yaaarrrgg Super Moderator Join Date: May 2007 Location: Indiana, USA Posts: 830	Re: A tragic legacy: How a good vs. evil mentality destroyed the Bush presidency. FWIW, I have a friend who works in the mental health profession, helping people with addiction problems. She stated that Bush's black and white mentality isn't so much from a moral foundation, as much as Bush's former drinking problems. He was an alcoholic, and simply stopped one day. This is known as a "dry drunk" ... when people avoid treatment, and think "recovery == not drinking." Here's an article on the same topic: Katherine van Wormer: Bush and Dry Drunk Syndrome Last edited by yaaarrrgg : 06-21-2007 at 10:03 AM. Reason: metal -> mental :)