"We sit outside and argue all night long,
about a god we've never seen but never fails to side with me."
-Primitive Radio Gods
One thing that gets under my skin is Bush's constant tendency to invoke God. And Yes, I know that other Presidents have done it, and no I'm not talking about statements like "God Bless America," though even that statement is often weilded like some kind of political mace. (Don't make me dredge up examples from shit I've read in the past few months. Please. I will if need be, but not right now.)
The difference between Chimpy McSmirkster and his predecessors is that he constantly invokes God's name in a way that suggests God is always on the side of the United States. I can't say with certainty if God is or not, but I consider it arrogant, (if not blasphemous) to always claim the protection of the almighty. Here's some dude named Abe Lincoln:
"He gives to both North and South this terrible war as the woe due to those by whom the offence came."
Lincoln added that the war was a curse to both armies. Also though, it's embarassing to me, as a Christian, to be lumped in the same category as this schmuck. Every time Bush tries to interpret something about God's will I feel like shouting: "Have you read the same fucking Bible I've read? Is there another, alternate version that omits all the parts about helping the needy and feeding your enemies? A part that says 'It is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than it is for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven.'" An omision of that last parable might explain the whole fucked-up tax break scam. Bush and I seem to have very different takes on Christianity and God, and I don't want him speaking for the U.S. about God, and by extension, speaking about God for citizen Crazy Mike.
This article can explain what I'm talking about better. Pete sent it to me with this comment: "This is what would piss me off the most if I were from the Middle East. "So you americans say that doing something in the name of god is fanatical and crazy but your president says that he has god guiding him through the war?" The irony has not lost been lost on me either.
Posted by mike at April 9, 2003 03:24 AMWell I guess if you can be a moron and get to be president God must be on your side.
Anyway nice song quote I have the album actually.
Posted by: Greg on April 9, 2003 05:58 PMAgreed, nice quote. Also, might I suggest Dylan's With God on Our Side (although it's pretty obvious for this one).
Two completely unrelated things: first, we must have God on our side with baseball players named Yorvit Torrealba (catcher for the San Francisco Giants), although he doesn't compare to my all-time favorite, Van Lingle Mungo, the great Dodgers pitcher from the 40's. On a related note, if you happen to have no life like me, you might want to check out the Padres-Giants game that's going on right now- it's 11-8 Giants in the 3rd inning. Someone has scored in every half inning- and that doesn't happen very often.
Second, I just found the blog yesterday, and already I'm overwhelmed. What next, Mike, telling us that rich people are the same as poor people? Keep up the good work, man.
Posted by: Adam #2 (the Ruder one) on April 9, 2003 06:24 PMBy the way, another random thought and then you can stop me from ever posting again: do any of you remember the Commander Keen games? Weren't the bad guys in one of them called blogs? Maybe that's what this is named after, and I'm just in the dark...
Posted by: Adam #2 (the Ruder one) on April 9, 2003 06:40 PMAdam and Greg, you ignorant sluts...what's up? Mike told me I should post my responses online, so here goes...
While I don't disagree that the amount of religious jibber-jabber coming out of the White House is inappropriate (and that goes for this administration in general, not just concerning the war), I think Mike's argument that Bush is unique in his insistance that God stands on the side of the US is a bit short sighted. I'd say that the Lincoln quotation is much more the exception than the rule--can you really think of many other examples of a president who has invoked the name of God, but not in a decidedly pro-America way? Especially during a war? Lincoln was a great president, and I wouldn't disagree had Mike said "Bush should be more like Lincoln" or "Bush bad, Lincoln good," but Honest Abe is being used here as an example of a norm which Mike claims Bush is deviating from. Sadly, history is full of presidents who have innapropriately used God to justify a whole lot of things(slavery and manifest destiny spring to mind), meaning it is Bush who is leaning closer to the standard...Anyway, my rambling comes down to this: Bush shouldn't be spouting all the God talk, but to single him out would mean over-looking a lot of history.
P.S. to MIke: Though this blog wouldn't be yours if it wasn't full of profanity, I think it might be worth toning down the name calling...you have tons of substantial criticisms; you should let them stand on their own.
PPS(PSS?) This site is a lot easier to view with Internet Explorer than with Netscape, if that means anything to anyone...
Posted by: Ben on April 9, 2003 08:41 PMI'm not singling out Bush. I was simply responding to the post, which is about Bush. Tons of leaders do and have done this. Tons of leaders still do this. But that doesn't mean Bush should as well. Saddam does the same thing as Bush by saying that Allah is on his side. It's quite typical of leaders to do this and by placing Bush's tactic of doing this within the context of other leaders goes to show the common tactics used by people in leadership positions to unite people together. I'm not ignoring history, rather, I'm recognizing that this guy is acting like a lot of other people have in the past and present. I don't like their tactics and I don't like Bush's now. That's what bugs me.
Clearly, God doesn't choose sides, or the Mets, Jets, and Knicks would be winning championships all the live long day and I'd sleep on top of a pile of money with many beautiful ladies . . . SIGH
Posted by: Greg on April 9, 2003 11:47 PM