Politics

Dear Jack,

Forgive the ranting. My temper has flared in the most eloquent ex-English major way, and I'm about to vent against the politicians of the world. I don't care whether they are right-wing conservatives, left-wing radicals, zealots, terrorists, or just someone with a different political world view than the one I hold... There is a certain level of decorum which I expect to be upheld in this country, and frankly, I find it insulting when it is not.

When did politics cease to be about the issues at hand, both in the world at large and in our home country? Yes, President Bush just addressed countless issues in his State of the Union address, but was I the only one who seemed to think that he said a whole lot without saying anything? Granted, I was silently protesting by reading Entertainment Weekly during the majority of the speech, but I figured (being a Republican by a naturally conservative nature) that I would tend to agree with him on the majority of issues which he addressed.

And really, I'm not here to talk about the issues. I'll leave that to people more politically aware than I am, but seriously. All this talk about the war and what we are doing that is both right and wrong in Iraq has got to stop. The facts are these. We are there, whether or not we like it, and as pulling out completely and all at once is a suicidal option for not only the Iraqi people, but the United States as a whole, we need to freaking shut up about it. But I'm going to stop talking about things which I really know nothing about. I think that other people (especially those in positions of political power) should FOLLOW MY LEAD.

When I was little, I wanted to be the first woman President of the United States. I can honestly say that is a job I no longer wish to apply for. When did politicians cease to be people? Real people with feelings, and convictions, and emotions? When did a simple question like "How is your son?" suddenly morph into a political soapbox for an already explosive issue? How can it be that propaganda has replaced a forum in which it is correct to speak civilly about issues? And yes, I realize that the rhetorical values of the President asking about another senator's son is really just a tool to perpetuate goodwill, I do not think that he did it with any intention to throw the fact that this senator's son was still in Iraq. Yes, emotions run high in situations like these, but why drag an innocent question of a HUMAN BEING'S health into a political circus, simply to convey a point which we, as the INTELLIGENT American public already know that you hold.

Which, conveniently brings me to my next point. When did we, as American citizens, suddenly morph into the mindset of a twelve year old. I don't know about you, but I hold two college degrees. I am perfectly capable of not only constructing a complex sentence, but I can (contrary to popular belief) understand them. I recognize when I am being insulted, and coddled, and lied to. And, if Jim Webb thinks that he is the be-all-to-end-all voice of the democrats of the world, let me tell you a little thing or two about rhetoric and the use of the word proper...

The belief systems held in the world are as varying as the people in it. That is what makes this country great. The second that you start forcing your belief system on me (and by the use of the word "proper" in reference to how you think the war in Iraq should be ended), that is the second that I start to be insulted.

What if I don't agree with what you think is proper? Does that make me wrong, and therefore "improper"...? There is no room left for error there. Either you are right, or you are wrong. Count me among the simpletons, but maybe, just maybe, to a Texas girl like me, that phrase does not really cross those party lines and heal old wounds. Just because you think that something is right does not necessarily make it so. The same goes for me. I want the name of your speech writer and your rhetorician... They both need to consider the future outcomes of the job they are doing.

Always,
A very testy,
John