George Bush - Forgive Him, For He Knows Not What
He Does
Author: Chuck Thunder

I am a patriotic American. Politically, I consider myself
slightly to the right of center. But if I held George Bush
fully responsible for everything he has done, I'd consider him
a war criminal. The only reason I don't see him that way is
that, after watching him, I have concluded that the man is
simply unconscious. There's nothing unusual about that - in
fact it's quite a common condition. Indeed I wonder just how
much I am unconscious of. After all, we can't be aware of what
we're unaware of, if that makes any sense. In my humble
opinion, this is what is wrong with W:

1. He is utterly blind to his own unconscious motivations

George W. Bush invaded a sovereign nation that no longer posed
a threat to the United States - in order to prove he was as
much of a 'man' as his daddy. The pattern was established long
ago - why do you think he got into the oil business? I honestly
don't think he realizes it. We all deceive ourselves sometimes -
at least those of who have an emotional investment in thinking
of ourselves as good people. But thinking of yourself as good
doesn't make you good anymore than sticking feathers up your
tail makes you a chicken.

Suppose I want to do something bad that will gain me some
perceived benefit. The cost of that benefit will be to abandon
the idea that I am a good person. This presents me with a
dilemna - I must either give up the benefit or give up my good
opinion of myself. But wait - there's a way I can keep both!
Just come up with a bogus justification for my bad action and
then work really hard to convince myself that it's true. After
all, how can God fault me when I'm so sincere? We can deceive
ourselves just as easily as we can deceive others.

And so presto - Iraq was suddenly filled with Weapons of Mass
Destruction. And if none were found later - "hey, I 'genuinely'
believed they were there, so the Man in the Mirror is still a
good person. Besides, we're already out there now; we might as
well 'stay the course'." It is only because I prefer to give W
the benefit of the doubt that I consider him too
unsophisticated for this kind of unconscious bargaining with
God.

Afghanistan I can understand. But Iraq? How quickly the lessons
of Vietnam have been forgotten! My government seems to have a
memory little better than that of the average goldfish.

2. He is indifferent to the suffering of others

John Hinkley shot the President of the United States to impress
a girl. George Bush killed 600,000 people (and counting) to
impress his daddy.

According to yesterday's headlines, Saddam Hussein looks to be
Number 600,001, and I for one will not shed a tear over him.
But most of the others, being fellow human beings, were worthy
of more tears than I have in my head to cry. How does God bear
it all?

JFK was America's first Television President. When 'W' was
growing up 'Pong' hadn't even been invented yet, but he is
nevertheless America's first Video Game President. Previous war
presidents aged decades while in office, but W seems good as new
- apparently the deaths of over half a million people doesn't
keep him up nights. This is no strength - it's weakness. It's
easy to deal with the deaths of that many people when it has no
more significance to you than PAC Man eating 600,000 dots. It
amazes me how anyone could be so detached from such an ocean of
suffering. Is this man awake or asleep? I fear that events that
are soon to take place will cause history will judge the
invasion of Iraq to be a foreign policy mistake of historic
proportions, along the lines of the Soviet invasion of
Afghanistan.

I suppose I am asking for it by criticising my government so
harshly while on foreign soil. But allow me an answer: I love
my country, but I fear my government.

I reckon you can't get much more American than that.


About The Author: Chuck Thunder is a mental patient residing in
the cellar of Oakfield Institute of the Very, Very Nervous. His
website, Lunatic Wisdom: News From Beyond the Matrix, is at
http://www.lunaticwisdom.com/blog/2006/10/29/modern-churchianity-biblical-christianity-or-buddhism/.