Spring Break
How to Bring about Peace
Stop pointing fingers; start taking action
Dustin Urban '09
Issue date: 10/1/06 Section: US News
- Page 1 of 4 next >
It's a crisis in leadership!" "He's staggeringly incompetent." "Bush is the worst President ever!" Such claims have become increasingly common as the Bush administration's stay in the White House and the occupation of Iraq have carried on. While statements like these may be well-reasoned and justified, they miss the point. It is important that we keep our leadership honest by voicing our criticisms, but merely railing against the Bush administration is not productive. Doing so can create the illusion that as long as he is in office, there is nothing to be done. It forces us to place all of our hopes in future presidential candidates, which makes their potential defeat all the more devastating, for casting a ballot in November begins to seem like the only opportunity to bring about change, which it most certainly is not. So instead of firing off another critique of Bush and his posse, I'd like to offer up another, more empowering perspective.
We get what we ask for. We may not live in a perfectly functioning democracy, but we, as the American people, elected (give or take a few ballots) our current president, and most of us have either accepted or been complacent about a war in Iraq which our government preemptively began. As angry, outraged, and appalled as many of us are, the 61 percent of Americans opposed to the war - according to an August CNN poll - have been inactive enough that the bloodshed goes on. We the people have the final say in the actions of our government, but only if we stand up and demand it.
Perhaps you are not convinced. "Sure we accepted the war, but we did not ask for it," you say. Well, we may not have been calling up the Oval Office suggesting that Saddam would be a good one to take down next, but collectively the American people were afraid and angry and demanded some form of retribution for September 11th - some assurance that Bush was taking action to keep us safe. In fact, that sentiment was so strong that it may have been politically risky not to take some similar type of action. Undoubtedly, the Bush administration stretched the truth and even intentionally deceived the public about the risk that Sadaam's regime posed to the U.S. But we must take responsibility as a people for the fact that such fantastical melodrama from our leaders is enough to convince us we ought to go to war. We were predisposed to accept such a war because in the post 9/11 atmosphere, America is afraid, and it wanted the President to do something about it.
We get what we ask for. We may not live in a perfectly functioning democracy, but we, as the American people, elected (give or take a few ballots) our current president, and most of us have either accepted or been complacent about a war in Iraq which our government preemptively began. As angry, outraged, and appalled as many of us are, the 61 percent of Americans opposed to the war - according to an August CNN poll - have been inactive enough that the bloodshed goes on. We the people have the final say in the actions of our government, but only if we stand up and demand it.
Perhaps you are not convinced. "Sure we accepted the war, but we did not ask for it," you say. Well, we may not have been calling up the Oval Office suggesting that Saddam would be a good one to take down next, but collectively the American people were afraid and angry and demanded some form of retribution for September 11th - some assurance that Bush was taking action to keep us safe. In fact, that sentiment was so strong that it may have been politically risky not to take some similar type of action. Undoubtedly, the Bush administration stretched the truth and even intentionally deceived the public about the risk that Sadaam's regime posed to the U.S. But we must take responsibility as a people for the fact that such fantastical melodrama from our leaders is enough to convince us we ought to go to war. We were predisposed to accept such a war because in the post 9/11 atmosphere, America is afraid, and it wanted the President to do something about it.
Be the first to comment on this story