Thank You George W. Bush

His priceless gift

by Alan Bisbort

Source: Hartford Advocate, December 2, 2004.

It might seem strange to many readers that someone who has screamed himself hoarse about G.W. Bush the past four years would now turn around and thank him. But, over the past week, as I pondered the few things for which I am most thankful, the little man in the big cowboy hat popped into my head. No, I'm not "thankful" for him and am confident that, in the fullness of time, historians will mark him down as the worst leader this nation has ever had.

However, I do owe the man my sincerest gratitude. I suspect that many others feel the same way. Hear me out.

First, he has rekindled a personal commitment to peace, justice, fairness, civil rights, the environment and my community that, until he was foisted on us by a partisan, equally failed Supreme Court, I had let slide onto my back burner. This won't happen again. My eyes are wide open now, and so are the eyes of millions of Americans who'd slipped into middle-aged, middle-class complacency.

The birth of my son in June 2001, of course, upped the ante and raised the stakes. Though most folks refocus when a child is born, they usually turn inward, circling the suburban wagons, and praying that the warmongers won't demand their precious progeny for some stupid, vicious overseas misadventure. I was determined to have it both ways. Turn inward on my family and outward on the world my son will inherit. And so I thank you GWB for showing me that was possible.

Secondly, Bush proves true all the homilies about voter apathy and media complacency, as well as Sinclair Lewis' 1937 warning (the novel It Can't Happen Here ) that, indeed, it can. Americans seem to think that we're immune to all the sins, follies, prejudices and violence that have brought even the most advanced nations (Germany, Japan, Italy), in the past century. But, under Bush, we're rewriting the book on these things.

Third, even if most everything else he says is a lie, Bush told the truth about one thing. He is a uniter. He has united, galvanized and motivated the left in a way no other man could have. And he has held it together through four years. The latest election result only toughened the resolve, determination and unity.

Throughout history, progressive movements, which call on the better sides of our character, have always been more splintered than regressive right wing "Crusades," which pander to humanity's boundless capacity for fear and hatred. So-called "liberals" are ready to break ranks over the flimsiest of split hairs. The right, on the other hand, will walk in lockstep, blindfolded, off the nearest cliff, if they're so instructed. Hell, they're doing it as we speak.

Fourth, Bush's radical agenda has invaded the middle class and moderate, the most fertile political ground in the country -- the domain of the mysterious swing voters. For whatever reason, these folks don't know where they stand from year to year, or even from one political ad campaign to the next, and they waver like wallflowers at the Homecoming Dance. They'll figure it out over the next four years, thanks to lil' Georgie.

Fifth, Bush (and Cheney, Rice, Rumsfeld, Wolfowitz, Powell, Norton, et al.) have established a new standard for incompetence in high office. Bush's reign will, hereafter, serve as a cautionary tale about how close we came to losing our democracy because we ignored our Constitution. Thanks again, George.

Sixth, he and his oily inner circle of neocons have shown the world America's worst face, and left a taint on the Republican Party they'll one day regret. The delusions about America being a beacon of ______ (choose one, or more, of the following): freedom, democracy, hope, Christian love, fairness, honor, knowledge will have become more realistic. It will empower the world to realize that no country and no people are better than any other. The whole world, you might say, has grown up thanks to G.W. Bush, even if he, and those who walk in lockstep behind him into history's unforgiving abyss, still remain child-like.

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reprinted from The Hartford Advocate