I have thought long about what is it that Bush signifies that makes me detest him so much. He has origins in a conservative wing so I wonder why I think he has failed since, generally, I am a conservative. This week I read Pat Buchanan's new book, Day of Reckoning, and I now think I understand the issue (You can read a summary of this at an article Pat wrote). Bush is an ideologue. He is an ideological fanatic who has put his ideology above America and above reason. He has truly elevated his beliefs to that of a religion whereby nothing can be said to challenge or even make him think differently.
This is generally the origin of a very dangerous man and, we know, George Bush has been a very dangerous man. When someone believes they have almost divine providence to do what they believe is right then you have an ideologue. For those Catholics out there, it is if he is speaking ex cathedra on his beliefs of the world.
First, I must admit, I am an America First person. I absolutely hate this war in Iraq but probably for different reasons than most "liberals". This is true because I truly believe I am from the conservative wing of the political landscape, far closer to Ronald Reagan, than George Bush and his ilk. I believe everything the United States does and should do should be looked at from the lens of "what is good for America" and nothing else. So, this leads to things such as (By the way, these are POLICIES not IDEOLOGIES - the only ideology subscribed to is "America First"):
- It is NOT our job to force democracy on anyone unless it serves a purpose for the US. Does this mean that there may be people who live under cruel dictatorships? Yes, it absolutely does but that is not for me to change - mainly because I cannot change it and neither can the United States. We certainly cannot change it by force.
Iraq is a disaster for a lot of reasons but it is now even more so since we entered the nation building phase where we are trying to force a democracy down the throats of people who have never had it and may not even want it. Let's face it, if you were a highly religious culture, one which respects deeply their God and their religion, would you want your Country to become like the United States.
- We should protect our industries and economy from the ravaging that is going on by the world in this so called "free trade" environment. Make no mistake, we do not have free trade right now. We cannot sell into many markets and foreign subsidized companies can do virtually whatever they want in the United States. That is not free trade. That is the sell out of American industry which, in turn, makes us incredibly unsafe. Far more unsafe than if Saddam was still in power.
- We should IMMEDIATELY CLOSE OUR BORDERS. It is incredible to me that George Bush has us in a war thousands of miles away when, today, we are being invaded from the South by the millions. To those who say this immigration is just like when the Europeans came should look at their history a bit more.
When the Europeans came, they came to make a NEW Country and to assimilate into what was already here. They did not come to claim Connecticut for England but rather to leave England behind and start a new world.
Today, the invasion from the South is, in fact, an invasion. They do not come to assimilate they come to take. Already, many Mexican people believe Texas, Arizona, New Mexico are part of Mexico and they are going to formalize this idea by invading.
So, how does all this relate to George Bush. George Bush has elevated an ideology above all else. "Democratization for the world" to George Bush is not a policy, it is an ideology. When something becomes an ideology then it can never be refuted. So, he believes we should spend our Country into a depression to bring Democracy to Iraq. All at the same time his Country is being invaded. An excerpt from Buchanan's book:
If there is a one root cause to the Bush failures, it has been his fatal embrace of ideology.
Ideology is substitute religion, a belief system based on ideas that are often contradicted by history and common sense. Yet men will adhere to ideologies with a zealotry that borders on fanaticism.
Marxism, fascism and socialism were are ideologies, gods that failed. So, too, is democratism, the Gospel of George W. Bush.
Free trade is an ideology to George Bush and, as I said before, this means no matter what, free trade must happen. Forget the fact that the core industries which we would need if a real important war started are being decimated. It is all for free trade. Forget about the fact that the great middle class of America is being destroyed as we replace good manufacturing jobs with retail and fast food jobs. Free trade must be good. That is an ideologue and that is dangerous.
As Pat said in his book, we are overseeing the end of the American Century and George Bush is directly responsible for ending it. So, what now?