General Discussion
Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsFWIW - Statement from George W. Bush:
Laura and I are anguished by the brutal suffocation of George Floyd and disturbed by the injustice and fear that suffocate our country. Yet we have resisted the urge to speak out, because this is not the time for us to lecture. It is time for us to listen. It is time for America to examine our tragic failures and as we do, we will also see some of our redeeming strengths.
It remains a shocking failure that many African Americans, especially young African American men, are harassed and threatened in their own country. It is a strength when protesters, protected by responsible law enforcement, march for a better future. This tragedy in a long series of similar tragedies raises a long overdue question: How do we end systemic racism in our society? The only way to see ourselves in a true light is to listen to the voices of so many who are hurting and grieving. Those who set out to silence those voices do not understand the meaning of America or how it becomes a better place.
America's greatest challenge has long been to unite people of very different backgrounds into a single nation of justice and opportunity. The doctrine and habits of racial superiority, which once nearly split our country, still threaten our Union. The answers to American problems are found by living up to American ideals to the fundamental truth that all human beings are created equal and endowed by God with certain rights. We have often underestimated how radical that quest really is, and how our cherished principles challenge systems of intended or assumed injustice. The heroes of America from Frederick Douglass, to Harriet Tubman, to Abraham Lincoln, to Martin Luther King, Jr. are heroes of unity. Their calling has never been for the fainthearted. They often revealed the nation's disturbing bigotry and exploitation stains on our character sometimes difficult for the American majority to examine. We can only see the reality of America's need by seeing it through the eyes of the threatened, oppressed, and disenfranchised.
That is exactly where we now stand. Many doubt the justice of our country, and with good reason. Black people see the repeated violation of their rights without an urgent and adequate response from American institutions. We know that lasting justice will only come by peaceful means. Looting is not liberation, and destruction is not progress. But we also know that lasting peace in our communities requires truly equal justice. The rule of law ultimately depends on the fairness and legitimacy of the legal system. And achieving justice for all is the duty of all.
This will require a consistent, courageous, and creative effort. We serve our neighbors best when we try to understand their experience. We love our neighbors as ourselves when we treat them as equals, in both protection and compassion. There is a better way the way of empathy, and shared commitment, and bold action, and a peace rooted in justice. I am confident that together, Americans will choose the better way.
idziak4ever1234
(1,257 posts)If Cheney hadn't been the puppet master.
Orrex
(63,208 posts)At the end of the day we can never know, but it's something to wonder about.
davekriss
(4,616 posts)If it werent for Cheney... (and Rumsfeld)
rockfordfile
(8,702 posts)Skittles
(153,160 posts)and I am SICK of reading DUers saying Dubya is a "saint" compared to Trump...no, THEY BOTH SUCK
gopiscrap
(23,758 posts)shrub is part of the problem we have today fuck him!!!
Greybnk48
(10,168 posts)JI7
(89,249 posts)ariadne0614
(1,728 posts)captain queeg
(10,188 posts)I blame him and his axis of evil for getting us into Iraq and Afghanistan but he had a few good qualities. He always seemed to get along with the Obamas and that says something. A friend of mine took him on a tour at the facility one time and thought he seemed like a decent sort. Maybe he is on a personal level but he sure fucked up as president.
LakeArenal
(28,817 posts)Seems Obamas do too.
Guy Whitey Corngood
(26,500 posts)all they did to install us in the White House. Where we proceeded to loot the country for our cronies. If they hadn't purged all those melanin afflicted folks, who apparently are now considered people, we would've never been able to shit all over this great country of ours......"
maxrandb
(15,326 posts)until then, fuck you GWB!
JI7
(89,249 posts)SideStep
(93 posts)Its well said. Bush will never recover from this simple thing, in my mind. He is a good hearted man but was completely out of his league with Cheney and Rummy in the room. Others in his administration as well. While Bush was fucking up businesses those two were movers on the world stage. They were the experts. They knew everything. And Bush was easily influenced. No free pass if you are The Decider in that situation. I believe in second, third, and fourth chances and I appreciate some of what Bush has done since leaving office. Mainly quietly painting at home. But there is no escaping the unnecessary blood and treasure that man pissed away. Its his to own.
Now please go and endorse Biden, you asshole. I would appreciate it.
Blasphemer
(3,261 posts)MagickMuffin
(15,937 posts)To post elsewhere!
dalton99a
(81,485 posts)aidbo
(2,328 posts)mvd
(65,173 posts)Selected by the Supreme Court to begin with, hes responsible for a lot of death of our soldiers, Iraqis, and Afghans. He ignored the warnings about 9/11. His fiscal policies helped lead to more inequality. So not being Trump is far from good.
JI7
(89,249 posts)gone.
Bush was actually pretty good when it came to defending Muslims and being pro immigrant and other things.
But he was an idiot and Cheney and others were allowed to do as they wanted. Bush was lazy and an idiot .
Right now we need everyone to speak out on this so we can think he was a shitty president while supporting things like this.