Paging Mr. Bush

[Prophet 451]

Dear Mr. Bush,
Are you familiar with the concept of noblesse oblige? Since you seem to want to be emperor, I figure you should be familiar with the term. The concept says that the right to lead or rule imposes certain obligations, mainly that you lead or rule to the best of your abilities, in the interests of the majority, without fear or favour. If you lack intellect or expertise, it's also acceptable to rule through a collection of brighter or better qualified advisers.

I'm English for the most part, Mr. Bush. We still have a monarchy here and the heir to the throne is a big believer in the concept. I'm pretty sure that's why his son, third in line to the throne, is now being shipped off to war. Despite his father's opposition to the war, despite the fact that he could very easily have lazed around Clarence House getting drunk and smoking pot, Prince Harry has gone out of his way to say (essentially) "If my lads are going, I'm going". Does this sound at all familiar, Mr. Bush? When your own nation was at war in Vietnam, you went out of your way to avoid service. Now, I actually don't blame you for that. Vietnam was a fucked-up LSD nightmare and I can't blame anyone for avoiding combat in it if they could. And yet, your father supported that war. I can't blame you for that either, we are not responsible for our parents actions, no matter how dumb they might be. However, I can blame you for lying about your record. I can blame you for telling lies about those who did serve like John Kerry and John McCain and I don't even like McCain.

Does it seem outlandish to compare you to Prince Hal, Mr. Bush? OK, you have forty years on him but you're both younger sons of wealthy and privilidged families, neither of you would win any prizes for intelligence, both of you were pretty wild as youths but notice the difference: Your father supported a war and you went out of your way to avoid fighting in it and then lied about it. Hal's dad opposed a war but Harry pushed to serve his country. He insisted that he receive no special favours and when a nice cushy assignment was offered, he rejected it in favour of leading his men at the sharp end. Oh, you couldn't sign up today, George, you're far too old but what about your girls? Last I heard, they were off partying somewhere and causing embaressment to you. They're of an age to serve, they seem fit enough and the discipline of military life might even be good for them.

I read that you are downsizing veteran's benefits again, George and doing so at a time when your military is already stretched thin. Apparently, you expect otherwise intelligent people to sign up, run the risk of having their bollocks shot off for reasons which are still unclear and not even be assured of medical care when they get back to civvy street. Is it any wonder that you're having problems getting people to sign up? Perhaps, if your country was running out of cash, that would be forgiveable but the money could be easily found if you hadn't insisted on such huge tax cuts for your cronies. Perhaps, having never served at the sharp end yourself, you're unaware of how badly those benefits are needed. Physical injury is not the only danger a squaddie faces, George, many who have seen combat are permanently scarred by the experiance. Many will need long counselling before they're ready to rejoin the civillian world. Others will never come back at all and I'm told that you forbade journalists from telling their stories. I'm told that you wouldn't even allow the showing of flag-draped caskets as they returned to their native soil. Here, the man who may one day be king has gone off to a war his closest relatives disagree with, leading his men because his country expects him to share the trials of it's citizens, in war if not in peace. What did you do during the war, Mr. Bush? During your first war, you avoided service. During your second war, you undermined and demoralised those you placed in harm's way. You played your part in ensuring that gay men and women who elect to serve their country would be treated as second-class citizens and bounced from teh service if their lovelives came to light. Here, gay people can marry in all but name and serve in the forces. One of the first gay marriages in this country was between two gay women serving in the Army. they even got married in full dress uniform and got all the usual rights and responsibilities of married couples (including the right to be mercilessly ribbed by your buddies for the next six months).

In your rhetoric about "supporting the troops", Mr. Bush, have you forgotten what the words actually mean? Squaddies tend to bitch and gossip like mother hens amongst themselves but when the bullets are flying, all they really ask is for proper armour, good leadership, three squares a day and an assurance that their CO knows what they're doing. Do you know what you're doing, Mr. Bush? If you have a hankering to move troops around a battlefield, that's fair enough. Lots of people share that urge, including myself but most of us just buy a copy of the Total War games. If you want to while away the hours playing Medieval II or challenging Cheney to a few games of Risk, no-one would care. If you wanted to paint and fight model soldiers on a tabletop battlefield (as I do), it's a slightly eccentric hobby but no-one minds. The problem is that you're not moving lead and plastic soldiers around, Mr. Bush. Those models you're moving around a battleield or a monitor are real people. Real people who don't much like their leaders lionising them with speeches while they sign orders ensuring their death, injury and disability. If you want to play with toy soldiers, head to your local video game store, I'll even shout you the fifty bucks for a game.

We have a saying here: "The head that wears the crown rests uneasy". What that means is that the ruler is expected to rule for the good of his people and, if the ruler is a good one, they may mess a lot of sacktime worrying about the good of their subjects. Now, granted, you don't (yet) wear a crown but I'm moved to ask, Mr. Bush, how are you sleeping these days? Noblesse oblige is not the preserve of princes, it lies at the foundation of any representative system of government. If you rule, you are expected to rule well, you are expected to represent your people. Who do you represent these days, George? Do you represent the Southern and Mid-Westerners who turned out in droves to give you your crown? You pretend to, I know that much. You pretend to be a down-home good ole' boy but do you share their troubles, attend their churches? Do you worry when the policies you created cause their local plant to shut down? Or do you represent a wealthy elite? The ones who have made out like kings under your presidency, the one's whose stake money you used to get into office. You've talked a lot about personal responsibility, Mr. Bush, have you ever tried it? Your dad made millions back in the days when that was real money but you never made a dime for your companies. You became rich yourself but the companies went bust.

But then, that's been the pattern, hasn't it? You make the mess and someone else carries the can. Your businesses go bust and you get a fortune to essentially do nothing. You preside over the state that ranks as one of the worst in the union on just about every measure of social wellbeing and you walk into the highest office in the land. You preside over an economy in freefall and you get a second-term. You contribute to the worst terrorist outrage of recent years and get given a blank cheque to create more. You start a war and then make a mess of it and you get to call yourself a "war president". From my mornign paper, it looks like you're about to do it again. Mr. Bush, you are living testimony to the fact that it is better to be born lucky than smart. I just wonder if you realise it.

[northofdenali]

1. K & enthusiastically R

Bookmarked and emailed. But the Shrub wouldn't know noblesse oblige if it bit him on the balls. Not that he has any.

Excellent post. :thumbsup: