A rose by
any other name is certainly more than just an “enhanced flower”. This being said, the United States does
torture. At this point, after hearing
of the multitude of sickening abuses that go on in the name of “enhanced interrogation”,
we as Americans have no need for lawyers to tell us to ignore our gut instinct
on this issue and go with their twisted definition. What’s more is that those responsible for this brutality, which
is bringing down the great name of the United States, have no intention of
ending this behavior until they are forced to do so. What’s also clear is that Americans have woken up to the fact
that stories of violence, warped legal opinions, and the stripping down of
constitutional rights have not simply materialized out of thin air but have
been goals that were both knowingly and carefully pursued by the Bush white
house. Though this may sound like a
statement issued generally to attack the Republican party I assure you that,
were these realities not occurring, I am not the type to randomly attack any
particular political mindset. I also
assure you, as this is all I can do here, that though I am indeed a democrat,
my loyalty to the idea of seeing this country go in the right direction goes
much deeper than any sort of partisan loyalty.
That being
said, its time to call a spade a spade and recognize that the Republican party,
as it is currently structured, is taking America in a direction that it does
not want to go. It cannot be avoided
that McCain is, above all else a Republican, and he owes his hope of becoming
president to the favorable whims of the Republican party. This party has allowed him to be the nominee
specifically because he can and will represent the party’s core ideas and it
has now put its vast engines of promotion, candidate attack, and fundraising to
work for him. In addition to these
factors, perhaps the biggest thing that McCain gets from being the nominee is
the use of the Republican image. What
this image has become at this point, is the idealized image of a tough guy, a
lone ranger, a shoot first ask questions later type of persona. While these ideas may sound like appealing
concepts in theory, many of the realities that have flowed from these attitudes
lately have been dismal. Like it or not
we are now a society that approves warrantless wiretapping, indefinite
detention of citizens, and of course “enhanced interrogation”.
As the previous Republican
president ran on this lone ranger platform and won, these sorts of abuses are things
the party feels, on some level, that Americans approve of. If we as Americans really do not approve of
these abuses, it is time to tell the Republican party with our votes that we do
not. Voting them out of office is the
only way to do this. I assure you that
anything short of making your point with your vote will be seen by the
Republican party as tacit approval of the disgusting action that goes on in our
name. Make no mistake, McCain truly is
a maverick, though this is certainly not what America needs right now. We need a statesman. We need someone to call the bluff of those
who would sell us on the idea that an irrational rogue is the man who would
best represent this great nation which has throughout history inspired the
world with it’s steadfast adherence to freedom, truth and above all, justice
for all. If you are a voter who
believes that McCain is going to run on the platform of being a maverick and
then suddenly morph into the diplomat we need upon election, please realize
that this will not happen and the product that is being sold is exactly what
will be delivered.
It is significant that John McCain has stated himself
that he agrees with the president on most issues. This remark should not be brushed aside as
something that McCain said randomly or accidentally. Instead, even if they do not agree on all issues, the fact cannot
be avoided that those who agree on most issues usually share a similar
ideological base. Any sharing of an
ideological base with the president who has put this country into the position
of distain it now finds itself in is something that should raise concerns. Lastly, I ask you the reader to consider the
most rudimentary element of Bush’s previous campaigns, the idea that Bush was
the cowboy, an outsider who claimed he would ignore the conventions of the
Washington society and bring his own idea of justice to the capital. I ask you to consider the idea that this
cowboy mentality is exactly what Bush brought to the white house and it is this
attitude that “the maverick” wants to continue. A quick look back at the last eight years of our history can shed
light on this concept by showing that if a candidate says that they are an
outsider who is going to do things their own way, they mean what they are
saying. Now is the time for someone who
does things the American people’s way, and for someone who can ask the right
questions before committing our nation to firing a shot.