The way in which we come to the political process, and decision-making, seems to be very different. Even if our quiz scores place us on the same part of the political spectrum... you may see a video clip and see hope and inspiration, while I see naivety and incipient disillusionment and disaster from the same clip. That comes from our different approaches, which do seem to be worlds apart.
I see Bush and his followers as being motivated by their faith and hope that things will somehow turn out the way they envision. With good intentions, that has been repeatedly a disaster.
All of this -- the ''gut'' and ''instincts,'' the certainty and religiosity -connects to a single word, ''faith,'' and faith asserts its hold ever more on debates in this country and abroad. That a deep Christian faith illuminated the personal journey of George W. Bush is common knowledge. But faith has also shaped his presidency in profound, nonreligious ways. The president has demanded unquestioning faith from his followers, his staff, his senior aides and his kindred in the Republican Party. Once he makes a decision -- often swiftly, based on a creed or moral position -- he expects complete faith in its rightness.
IMO, Obama's hope-based politics has enough similarities, from a distance, that it can be unsettling to watch. Remember "we create our own reality"?
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branchandroot
Remember "we create our own reality"?
Date: 2008-02-08 09:34 pm (UTC)I see Bush and his followers as being motivated by their faith and hope that things will somehow turn out the way they envision. With good intentions, that has been repeatedly a disaster.
All of this -- the ''gut'' and ''instincts,'' the certainty and religiosity -connects to a single word, ''faith,'' and faith asserts its hold ever more on debates in this country and abroad. That a deep Christian faith illuminated the personal journey of George W. Bush is common knowledge. But faith has also shaped his presidency in profound, nonreligious ways. The president has demanded unquestioning faith from his followers, his staff, his senior aides and his kindred in the Republican Party. Once he makes a decision -- often swiftly, based on a creed or moral position -- he expects complete faith in its rightness.
IMO, Obama's hope-based politics has enough similarities, from a distance, that it can be unsettling to watch. Remember "we create our own reality"?
http://www.nytimes.com/2004/10/17/magazine/17BUSH.html