Wanderlust

George W. Bush: A study in fanaticism

FANATICISM: Excessive enthusiasm, unreasoning zeal, or wild and extravagant notions, on any subject, especially religion; religious frenzy.

Hindsight, so they say, is 20/20. I have to admit I felt drawn to Bush in 2000, in an oddly Clintonesque way. Where Clinton led by charisma, Bush seemed to lead by old-fashioned values and integrity. He was and is a strong leader. The kind of man who a hundred and fifty years ago would have spit in his hand and given you a hearty handshake to close the deal, never welching even upon threat of death. Bush was purposeful, that was certain. I think even if America didn't always agree or even understand what his purpose was, they appreciated the direction, the honesty and the forthrightness George W. exuded. He has not changed. Rather, our president is the same leader he has always been and if we could only have seen his bent towards fanaticism and what it might mean in a leader, we could have easily predicted our path here, to the edge of arrogant delusion and paranoia. The way to hell, or rather Iraq, was clearly paved and the signs are buried in Bush's past.

Many have hinted that the war in Iraq is a personal family vendetta, a settling of old scores from back in Bush senior's presidency when rumor has it Sadaam tried to off the old guy. Certainly this was an inflammatory act, but I don't think ill enough of junior Bush's intentions, rationality or intellect to lay the blame on that incident alone. I think it taught George W. to be wary, but I think the blind rage and irrational tones that the president seems to fall victim to whenever he speaks about the former Iraqi leader come from another source. It's a good ole boy thing, a dose of Texas bravado, that makes him talk like a drunk looking for a bar fight. 911 happened on his watch. George W. finds that more than offensive. It doesn't make him feel sad or morally responsible. He's a strong leader and he thinks it's a weakness to indulge in grief. 911 makes him spitting mad because it makes him feel like a Rotweiller who is chained up and has to watch some Doberman wander into his yard and piss on his favorite tree. America is his country, his to lead, and Bin Laden and all the rest of those middle Eastern bastards are out to get us. It's this attitude that you find in his diplomatic (sarcasm insert here) comments towards other countries about their role in Iraq. "Either you're with me or against me- for the troops or unpatriotic." George W. is ready to sit on his front porch with his loaded rifle and shoot anything that moves regardless. While this appears aggressive on the surface, it is only a defensive male (sorry boys but it's the truth) posture that seeks to cover fear and emotion. You can see that by the irrationality of it, the lack of reasoning and motives for plunging into action.

This, however, does not explain why Bush chose Iraq and why his passion for revenge masked as "justice" seems to go on and on in the face of rationality and balanced world politics. I don't think Bush is simply a good ole boy or some stubborn non intellectual who can't see the writing on the wall. George W. believes in his cause, the "legacy of democracy" that lights up his face whenever he speaks, and this is his motivator, his Allah, in a holy crusade against the Arabs and the infidels. Because, you see, Bush is a born again type, a man saved from the perils of alcoholism by the fervor of his religious faith. It is this same fervor that he brings to the American dream and his presidency and it is the same blind faith that he placed in his religion and God that he nows places in the god of democracy and the stereotypes of good and evil from the bible that he seems to see imprinted on the world. This is the man he is, the leader we saw and liked and elected. The leader who now leads us straight to world chaos and refuses to admit even an ounce of error or reconsideration, unmoved by public opinion. We shouldn't be surprised. Men of religious faith and fanaticism do not live in reality, they live to build legacies and forge ahead with their dying breath despite logic. Faith by its natural asks us not to be logical, not to heed evidence of science and reality. This is why George W. does not seem to understand or care about the press's skeptical questions or the public's wavering support. He is a martyr and a fanatic, but not for Allah. His martyrdom is this presidency and he will save us by his faith, by his unwavering commitment to a legacy, by his sacrifice to the gods of democracy, even if we as Americans and his presidency have to be offered up on the altar. George W. Bush does this not out of malice but out of ferverent faith in his cause and a sense of morality and integrity. These good intentions, however, do not make his actions any less dangerous. In fact, they make him and his administration more so. They are blinded by their faith and will continue to steer America like the Titanic, with illogical trust in her indestructability. If allowed, they will sink us with their fanaticism because they are not capable of seeing beyond the legacy they want to fashion to the reality of the world that the rest of us live and breathe in.

George W. Bush, I think, is probably a man I would trust personally. A guy I would be proud to know. But Americans should be grown up enough to realize that the best kind of men are not the best kinds of politicians or world leaders. Often, they are just the opposite and their stoic values and heroism make them inflexible in the winds of world politics and change. And we all know that what doesn't bend, eventually breaks.