Tuesday, November 15, 2005

Talk about the weather, talk about the war

Today was beautiful. We had our first real autumn sky, cloudy but light, neither too bright nor too dreary. Even after it started to rain intermitently I stayed outside, because it was just too pretty, and I had nothing else to do. People act so funny when it's threatening rain. Some of them, like myself, grow quiet and introspective, not hurrying anywhere, just enjoying those tense moments. Some people get impatient and grumbly, and complain bitterly about the weather not making any sense. And some people, my favorites, I think, are thrilled by the anxiety of it and laugh and scream because their day has been broken up by the weather.

I was kind of hoping I would run into some people I knew who wanted to sit around and talk, but everyone was sheltering from the rain or trying to make it to their cars or classes.

I wish I had pictures of the sky just before it really darkened up and rained.

My good pal, Dubious Wonder, a Republican in denial, had some political things to say today, and whenever she does that I get all stirred up and want to talk politics. Unfortunately, she never seems to want to talk politics when I want to talk politics, so I'm just gonna ramble on by myself.

I can't argue with her about the courageousness of American soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan. I think most or many of them believe in what they are doing, and believe that they are bringing democracy to a country that hasn't really seen it in a long while, if ever. I hope they are right. I would, however, feel better about it if President Bush would admit that this was his goal all along. Nukes or no nukes, I think he was going in there. Bush is making the same mistake that Presidents Johnson and Nixon did, which is that he is being overly secretive and possibly outright dishonest with the American people. He shouldn't be surprised when his political opponents and the American people accuse him of lying or otherwise twisting the truth.

And please, no more of this "undermining the President" nonsense. When the President does wrong, you tell him so. You write to your Congressional representative, you publish your thoughts in a blog or an editorial, but you don't just shut up and support him whatever he does, war or no war. That's nonsense.

The anti-war protesters tend to be more extreme left wing than most critics of President Bush and/or the war in Iraq. I think neither the Bush supporters nor the war protesters know enough about the complexities at work in Iraq right now, and I think many of them, having formed their opinions, don't care to know more.

I'm going to go read for a while and then write for the rest of the night. I forgot how much I hate talking about politics. All it ever does is sour my mood.

7 Comments:

At 8:38 AM, Blogger Trouble said...

Sorry to make you sour. However, you're fighting battles I didn't wage. I think Bush is, in large measure, a contemptible idiot. But, by the same token, in spite of his ineptitude, I happen to agree with the Bush Doctrine. I guess that makes me, as stated several times, a classic neo-con.

I think Bush is succeeding IN SPITE OF HIMSELF. That's pretty shocking, frankly.

 
At 5:05 PM, Blogger Arthur Mundane said...

Sorry, I meant what I said as more of a general rant than a specific response to you. I still think you're a Republican in denial, though.

I guess that's what bothers me, the fact that I can't expect Bush to be level with me. If he had openly stated at the outset that he intended to oust tyrants and spread democracy proactively...well, post-Sept 11 that might have had some support. But instead of being honest and risking the rejection of the public, he led the country to war under flimsy false pretenses and then used that to persuade the nation to accept his "Bush Doctrine", as you call it. Has that been officially coined, by the way? That's a good name for it.

 
At 5:39 PM, Blogger Trouble said...

I'm guessing you haven't watched the video.

 
At 9:08 PM, Blogger Allen said...

Next time the talk turns to politics, why don't you change the subject of discussion to cute fluffy bunnies? That ought to lighten your mood.

 
At 2:26 PM, Blogger Arthur Mundane said...

Politics fouls my mood, but bunnies puts me in a white-hot, frothy rage.

Let us not discuss the bunnies.

 
At 9:28 AM, Blogger Steer Pike Pie said...

I would suggest thinking about Jesus and how He personally supports the war whenever you talk about politics.

 
At 5:01 PM, Blogger Trouble said...

Bunnies are overrated. Read the bunny story on my blog. They're horny bastards. Worse then El Cid, now that I think about it.

 

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