Faith Against Reason in the US Election

Published on October 20, 2004 By blogic In Politics

The title is from an really interesting article the Guardian is running, on the role of faith in the Bush campaign. Not so much faith in God, as faith in George Bush. I strongly recommend taking a look at it. To me, it sometimes seems that some Bush supporters have an absolute confidence in their rightness that I can't even imagine feeling about my own opinions.

Anyway, check it out:

First among these taboos is the military. No politician can utter a word that seems to question the armed services: so Kerry does not mention the Abu Ghraib scandal. Next is 9/11, which has been all but sanctified in American discourse. Because of that event, the US has re-imagined itself as a victim nation: witness the yellow-ribbon bumperstickers, usually bearing the slogan "Support America". (Ribbons were previously reserved for the suffering: red for Aids, pink for breast cancer.)

As a result, any action taken in the name of 9/11 cannot be questioned. Oppose the Patriot Act, with its restrictions on civil liberties, and you are a friend of the terrorists - and, if you are a Democratic congressional candidate, Republicans will air TV ads against you placing your face alongside that of Osama bin Laden.

[snip]

All this is partly caused by, and certainly reinforces, that gut feeling of certainty that animates today's American right. Bill Clinton used to joke that when Democrats are in the White House, they think they are renting it. Republicans believe they own the place.

[snip]

A striking profile in Sunday's New York Times magazine interviewed a clutch of Republican insiders who had discovered that belief is the organising principle of the Bush White House. Advisers, even cabinet members, are simply meant to believe in the wisdom of the president, whatever countervailing evidence there may be. Bush's former environment secretary, Christine Todd Whitman, is quoted: "In meetings, I'd ask if there were any facts to support our case. And for that, I was accused of disloyalty!" Senators are told not to worry about the complexities of Iraq; the president's "instincts", his "gut" tells him he's doing the right thing.

Comments

T_Bone4Justice

on Oct 20, 2004

Blogic, thanks for posting the link to the Guardian news article. Your article really underscores that Bush's refusal to listen to dissenting opinions and his perpetuation of "taboo" subjects highlights some of the flawed reasoning and nature of this particular While House "culture" that went into starting this war, why it became such a mess, and if re-elected, why we won't be getting out of there for the foreseeable future.

blogic

on Oct 20, 2004

T_Bone, thanks for the nice comment, although I can't take credit for Jonathan Freedland's fine essay. Definitely read the essay, since I left out some good passages in order to conform to fair use law. I think your point that we'll still be dealing with these taboos -- no matter who wins the election -- is an insightful one.

Dr Guy

on Oct 20, 2004

First, a big ROFL! for quoting the Guardian. If you want to make an arguement, they are not the ones to quote.

To wit:

Because of that event, the US has re-imagined itself as a victim nation: witness the yellow-ribbon bumperstickers, usually bearing the slogan "Support America". (Ribbons were previously reserved for the suffering: red for Aids, pink for breast cancer.)

Wrong. They were first and foremost used for the return of the troops, and none I have seen say "support America". All the ones I have seen say "Support our Troops".

Second:

No politician can utter a word that seems to question the armed services: so Kerry does not mention the Abu Ghraib scandal

This is just a bald faced lie, or one of the worst reporting jobs ever. Abu Ghraib has been all over the media., and democrats pounced in it like flies on shit! The only reason it is not a campaign issue is because it was swiftly dealt with.

Third:

As a result, any action taken in the name of 9/11 cannot be questioned. Oppose the Patriot Act, with its restrictions on civil liberties, and you are a friend of the terrorists - and, if you are a Democratic congressional candidate, Republicans will air TV ads against you placing your face alongside that of Osama bin Laden.

False. The only politicians discussing patriotism are the democrats, and they are demigoging the issue. They cannot come up with one attributable quote questioning anyone's patriotism from a republican. judgement, sure. But that goes bothways.

Fourth:

Christine Todd Whitman, is quoted: "In meetings, I'd ask if there were any facts to support our case. And for that, I was accused of disloyalty!" [/quote}

This is just an outright lie. The quote comes from Michael Moore's F911 and is one of the 59 lies in his film, but this sorry piece of a rag did not even research that enough to know it was a lie. Shoddy reporting.

if you want to make an argument, try using substantiated facts, not quotes from a known rag that cant even get its own facts striaght. A house built on sand will crumble easily and yours just did.

CrispE

on Oct 20, 2004

blogic:

I think W is on a "mission" and that he thinks he is doing God's will. The White House has introduced many changes to Washington and has furthered the role of the church in such ways as faith-based initiatives and in the process of governing.

However, faith is best when in service, not in words. By this, most of the most faithful people throughout history lived a faith that meant they never tired of serving others, being POSITIVE role models for all. This is where I disagree with W. He is negative on most issues, acts as if the election is threatening to him and treats all issues he is not strong on as trivial.

We know W is strong on terrorism (he sure tells us enough of the time). Yet, as in the debate, he did say he "didn't spend much time thinking about Osama Bin Laden" but after he obviously made the mistake didn't apologize or even admit that he did it.

When a person picks and chooses when to use faith as a weapon in the campaign and when he doesn't live his faith by admitting his mistakes faith is seen as quite hollow.

blogic

on Oct 20, 2004

CrispE,

Thanks for the thoughtful comment.

Kerry doesn't always offer good quotes in his speeches, but I think he got it right when he said what matters isn't whether God is on our side, but whether we're on God's.

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