something i have to get off my chest before i scream...
so the other day in ethics we were discussing how coretta scott king's funeral turned from a celebration of life into a bashing of the current administration. and i'd like to clarify some of my earlier points.
I DO NOT SUPPORT BUSH. if my opposition to the bashing came across that way, it was not my intent at all. what i meant on thursday was that mrs. king's funeral was NOT a public forum to discuss politics. it was a time to remember all of her wonderful contributions to society and share in the kind of peace-building idealism that she and her husband gave their LIVES to sustain. dr. reed commented on how dr. and mrs. king were not treated well by many administrations, should have had better protection than they did, and were often wire-tapped by government officials. this is all true. but does that justify turning her celebration into a day of anger and resentment? i don't think so. dr. and mrs. king did not look to the past and condemn; rather they looked to the future and hoped, and that should have been the theme of the funeral. i am not condoning their mistreatment by any means; i am simply saying that the kings knew better than all of us; they understood their mistreatment better than anyone, they knew what it was going to cost to be beacons of liberty and justice, and they dealt with the consequences of that fight with dignity and grace.
i respect president carter and the reverand lowery a great deal; carter is a humanitarian of incredible warmth and kindness, and lowerys work as cofounder of the SCLC proves his committment to the fight against injustice. however, i think they both made tremendous mistakes when they took their jabs at bush, in the setting of a peace-fighers funeral. furthermore, as it was pointed out to me this weekend but a very smart guy, senator clinton had all the reason in the world to hit bush at this funeral, and she declined. in fact, president clinton even said in his speech how honored he was to be surrounded by former presidents, one of them being w's father. so obviously, he and the senator thought it unneccessary and perhaps even tasteless to use the funeral to give a politically charged message. i'd have to agree.
but just before you think ive gone softy on bush and co, today we hear news that vp cheney ACCIDENTALLY shot a man while hunting in texas. HAHAHAHHAA, give me a break. do you even KNOW how ridiculously stupid that makes him look? you are trusted to assist the president of a country in war but you can't even fire a rifle? sorry, don't give me stupid excuses like "he probably didn't see the guy" or "everyone makes mistakes..." that's just plain jane STUPID. Way to go, NRA!
and finally:
dear laura bush,
when a journalist asks you to respond to an opponent's criticism, please do not use the same words that were posed in the question.
ex:
journalist: mrs. bush, do you think hillary's statement about the bush administration being run like a plantation and one of the worst in history was politically motivated?
laura bush: why, yes, i think it was ridiculous. absolutely ridiculous. and sure, i think it was politically motivated...
uuhhh, right...thanks for that incredible insight. come on laura we know you are smarter than that! dubbya sure has hell ain't doing this all by himself. why don't u try and say something?!
ok, now that i've offended a lot of people, i'm gonna go eat chocolate chip cookies and drink tea and maybe study. or fall asleep. or watch tv. anything but think of how incredibly stupid we must look to the rest of the world right now. i would say i'd go all expatriot and do the ernest hemingway thing, but since it looks like the student activism of the 1960s is nowhere to be found, someones gotta pick up where they left off. yikes...
kthanksBYE!
I DO NOT SUPPORT BUSH. if my opposition to the bashing came across that way, it was not my intent at all. what i meant on thursday was that mrs. king's funeral was NOT a public forum to discuss politics. it was a time to remember all of her wonderful contributions to society and share in the kind of peace-building idealism that she and her husband gave their LIVES to sustain. dr. reed commented on how dr. and mrs. king were not treated well by many administrations, should have had better protection than they did, and were often wire-tapped by government officials. this is all true. but does that justify turning her celebration into a day of anger and resentment? i don't think so. dr. and mrs. king did not look to the past and condemn; rather they looked to the future and hoped, and that should have been the theme of the funeral. i am not condoning their mistreatment by any means; i am simply saying that the kings knew better than all of us; they understood their mistreatment better than anyone, they knew what it was going to cost to be beacons of liberty and justice, and they dealt with the consequences of that fight with dignity and grace.
i respect president carter and the reverand lowery a great deal; carter is a humanitarian of incredible warmth and kindness, and lowerys work as cofounder of the SCLC proves his committment to the fight against injustice. however, i think they both made tremendous mistakes when they took their jabs at bush, in the setting of a peace-fighers funeral. furthermore, as it was pointed out to me this weekend but a very smart guy, senator clinton had all the reason in the world to hit bush at this funeral, and she declined. in fact, president clinton even said in his speech how honored he was to be surrounded by former presidents, one of them being w's father. so obviously, he and the senator thought it unneccessary and perhaps even tasteless to use the funeral to give a politically charged message. i'd have to agree.
but just before you think ive gone softy on bush and co, today we hear news that vp cheney ACCIDENTALLY shot a man while hunting in texas. HAHAHAHHAA, give me a break. do you even KNOW how ridiculously stupid that makes him look? you are trusted to assist the president of a country in war but you can't even fire a rifle? sorry, don't give me stupid excuses like "he probably didn't see the guy" or "everyone makes mistakes..." that's just plain jane STUPID. Way to go, NRA!
and finally:
dear laura bush,
when a journalist asks you to respond to an opponent's criticism, please do not use the same words that were posed in the question.
ex:
journalist: mrs. bush, do you think hillary's statement about the bush administration being run like a plantation and one of the worst in history was politically motivated?
laura bush: why, yes, i think it was ridiculous. absolutely ridiculous. and sure, i think it was politically motivated...
uuhhh, right...thanks for that incredible insight. come on laura we know you are smarter than that! dubbya sure has hell ain't doing this all by himself. why don't u try and say something?!
ok, now that i've offended a lot of people, i'm gonna go eat chocolate chip cookies and drink tea and maybe study. or fall asleep. or watch tv. anything but think of how incredibly stupid we must look to the rest of the world right now. i would say i'd go all expatriot and do the ernest hemingway thing, but since it looks like the student activism of the 1960s is nowhere to be found, someones gotta pick up where they left off. yikes...
kthanksBYE!