Is Bush telling tales?
Yesterday was a momentous day in America. Coretta Scott King - civil rights icon and wife of Martin Luther King Jr.- died at the age of 78. Last night, George W Bush delivered his address on the state of the American union to a joint session of Congress.
I watched the speech in shock and awe (pun totally intended). From my perspective, the picture he painted of America's role in the world is based on a totally mytholigized account of US history and current geopolitics. It was a fairy tale. Apparently, 30 million Americans tuned in to hear the address. Bush began his speech by confidently asserting that "the state of our union is strong." My question is, how many of those Americans believe his assessment?
The first portion of his speech (26 paragraphs) was dedicated to justifying the War on Terror. Employing mythic concepts of freedom, liberty, and evil, (and downplaying actualities such as loss of life and increased military spending) Bush attempted to boost public opinion for what is clearly a losing battle in Iraq. Bush's lionized description of the reconstruction effort was punctuated by applause led by the very same men who's companies have been hired to carry out the construction contracts.
The next 12 paragraphs were focused on the strength of the American economy. Bush communicated the importance of continuing tax cuts, while at the same time expressed the dire need to address the impending social security crisis. Does anyone else think that these are mutually exclusive and self-defeating actions? Why would the government eliminate tax revenues when it's running out of social security dollars?
There was one paragraph about immigration and border protection, outlining the need for a "humane guest worker program that rejects amnesty...", whatever that means. Interestingly, Bush forgot to mention the fact that the US House recently passed a bill that will permit the construction of a fence along it southern border, at an estimated cost of $1 million per mile.
There were 2 token paragraphs dedicated to problems in health care. As a Canadian observer, I understand that access to affordable and adequate health care has become a crisis situation for Americans. Corporations that support the backbone of the American economy (such as GM and Ford) are facing record cutbacks, partly due to the fact that on average, 60% of their budgets are spent on employee health care. How can the state of the union be strong when 1 in 6 Americans have no health insurance?
Amazingly, only 2 paragraphs were dedicated to the nightmare that has befallen the residents of the Gulf Coast and New Orleans. However, the disastrous relief effort after hurricane Katrina signaled the critical and fatal failings of the Federal Emergency Response Agency. How many thousands of Gulf Coast residents are still homeless? I can't help but wonder what their perspective is on strength of the state of the union.
One could write an entire thesis about the content of Bush's address. Since I'm currently writing a thesis about something else, I must end my analysis here. However, I can't help thinking of Coretta Scott King. She was a woman who, for many, represented the important quest for social justice. She once said that "the greatness of a community is most accurately measured by the compassionate actions of its members." If we use this wise woman's words as a standard, how well does Bush's tale about the strength of state of the union measure up?
Yesterday was a momentous day in America. Coretta Scott King - civil rights icon and wife of Martin Luther King Jr.- died at the age of 78. Last night, George W Bush delivered his address on the state of the American union to a joint session of Congress.
I watched the speech in shock and awe (pun totally intended). From my perspective, the picture he painted of America's role in the world is based on a totally mytholigized account of US history and current geopolitics. It was a fairy tale. Apparently, 30 million Americans tuned in to hear the address. Bush began his speech by confidently asserting that "the state of our union is strong." My question is, how many of those Americans believe his assessment?
The first portion of his speech (26 paragraphs) was dedicated to justifying the War on Terror. Employing mythic concepts of freedom, liberty, and evil, (and downplaying actualities such as loss of life and increased military spending) Bush attempted to boost public opinion for what is clearly a losing battle in Iraq. Bush's lionized description of the reconstruction effort was punctuated by applause led by the very same men who's companies have been hired to carry out the construction contracts.
The next 12 paragraphs were focused on the strength of the American economy. Bush communicated the importance of continuing tax cuts, while at the same time expressed the dire need to address the impending social security crisis. Does anyone else think that these are mutually exclusive and self-defeating actions? Why would the government eliminate tax revenues when it's running out of social security dollars?
There was one paragraph about immigration and border protection, outlining the need for a "humane guest worker program that rejects amnesty...", whatever that means. Interestingly, Bush forgot to mention the fact that the US House recently passed a bill that will permit the construction of a fence along it southern border, at an estimated cost of $1 million per mile.
There were 2 token paragraphs dedicated to problems in health care. As a Canadian observer, I understand that access to affordable and adequate health care has become a crisis situation for Americans. Corporations that support the backbone of the American economy (such as GM and Ford) are facing record cutbacks, partly due to the fact that on average, 60% of their budgets are spent on employee health care. How can the state of the union be strong when 1 in 6 Americans have no health insurance?
Amazingly, only 2 paragraphs were dedicated to the nightmare that has befallen the residents of the Gulf Coast and New Orleans. However, the disastrous relief effort after hurricane Katrina signaled the critical and fatal failings of the Federal Emergency Response Agency. How many thousands of Gulf Coast residents are still homeless? I can't help but wonder what their perspective is on strength of the state of the union.
One could write an entire thesis about the content of Bush's address. Since I'm currently writing a thesis about something else, I must end my analysis here. However, I can't help thinking of Coretta Scott King. She was a woman who, for many, represented the important quest for social justice. She once said that "the greatness of a community is most accurately measured by the compassionate actions of its members." If we use this wise woman's words as a standard, how well does Bush's tale about the strength of state of the union measure up?
posted by Emma Jo Aiken-Klar, PhD at 9:18 AM
2 Comments:
Pinko commie bastard.
Does anyone know whatever came of the King kids? Obviously, they had some big shoes to fill, but I've never heard a peep about them. Anyone else?
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