The Christian Right needs to take a long, hard look at George W. Bush and decide "What Would Jesus Do?"
By Mick Youther
I imagined George W. Bush as the mean little kid who got his kicks by pulling legs off of grasshoppers, but I was wrong. Young George preferred sticking firecrackers in frogsâ mouths and watching them explode (NYTimes, 5/21/00).
Put this together with a couple of DUIs, some questionable business dealings and a spotty military record, and you donât exactly have the resume of the leader of the free world. Fortunately for him, Bush doesnât have to worry about his past indiscretions because he has been âborn againâ.
â âTherefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!â-- 2 Corinthians 5:16 (NIV)
Not only have his sins been forgotten, but Bush was also blessed with the power to spread his Saviorâs message of peace and brotherhood around the world. What could possibly go wrong?
â âI've heard the call. I believe God wants me to run for president.â-- George W. Bush, quoted in George Magazine, September, 2000
â âGod told me to strike at al Qaeda and I struck them, and then He instructed me to strike at Saddam, which I did, and now I am determined to solve the problem in the Middle East. If you help me, I will act, and if not, the elections will come and I will have to focus on them.â-- George W.Bush, in the Israeli newspaper Haaretz, quoted in The Washington Post, 6/27/03 (Even the vengeful Right Hand of God has to keep his priorities straight)
â â[W]e will export death and violence to the four corners of the earth in defense of this great country and rid the world of evil.â-- Bush quoted in Bob Woodwardâs book âBush at Warâ, Simon & Schuster 2002
â âNothing [Bush] does can be challenged on moral grounds, however unethical or evil it might appear, because all of his actions are directed by God. He can twist the truth, oppress the poor, exalt the rich, despoil the earth, ignore the law--and murder children--without the slightest compunction, the briefest moment of doubt or self-reflection, because he believes, he truly believes, that God squats in his brainpan and tells him what to do.â-- Chris Floyd, CounterPunch, 7/30/03
â â[Bushâs faith] does not give him pause or force him to reflect. It is a source of comfort and strength but not of wisdomâ-- Joe Klein, Time Magazine, 2/18/03
â âI know what I believe. I will continue to articulate what I believe and what I believe -- I believe what I believe is right.â-- George W. Bush, describing his beliefs, 7/22/01, quoted in "The Complete Bushisms"
â âThe drunk-gone-zealot may be reassuring to the troubled family. But it is not altogether reassuring to a modern world facing such a fanatic on the trigger of weapons of mass destruction that are capable of destroying the Earth several times over.â-- Les Payne, The Long Island, NY Newsday, 3/9/03
â âWhat difference does it make to the dead, the orphans, and the homeless, whether the mad destruction is wrought under the name of totalitarianism or the holy name of liberty and democracy?â-- Gandhi
â âThe moment a person (or government or religion or organization) is convinced that God is either ordering or sanctioning a cause or project, anything goes. The history, worldwide, of religion-fueled hate, killing, and oppression is staggering.â-- Eugene Peterson, from his book âTHE MESSAGE: New Testament with Psalms and Proverbs â, Navpress 1998
â âBush's flirtation with End Times rhetoric makes some suspect that he actually perceives himself as God's instrument. Many Europeans fear they're trapped between rival fundamentalist zealots whose messianic delusions threaten World War III.â-- Gene Lyons, Bartcop.com
President Bush is already responsible for the deaths of hundreds of soldiers and thousands of innocent civiliansâthousands more than died on 9/11. Iraq is just the first in a long list of countries that need âdemocratizingâ, and Bush has made no secret of his willingness to use nuclear weapons in his quest for peace.
â âBlessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called sons of God.â-- Matthew 5:9 (NIV)
â âBy their fruits you will recognize them. Do people pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? Likewise every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit.â-- Matthew 7:16-17 (NIV)
I donât see any âgood fruitsâ in George W. Bushâs first term as President. I donât even see the much-touted âgrowthâ that Bush supposedly underwent after 9/11. All I see is a cruel person who has progressed from blowing up frogs to blowing up people.
posted May 29, 2004
Mick Youther is retiring from his Instructor position at Southern Illinois University and is studying to become a curmudgeon. You can email your comments to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
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