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What Will We Tell The Children?
Southern
Style
by Rebecca Knight
Remember that refrain? Remember how the Republicans pounded the airwaves with that question regarding Clinton's indiscretion?
As I reflect upon the past two years and the possibilities that exist for the next two years, I wondered what the answer to that question would be today or two years from now.
Here is what I came up with for my child:
I will tell my child that I once had respect for the Republican Party. I once voted for Ronald Reagan because I thought he was a better candidate for president than Jimmy Carter. Not a better man. Carter was a better man. However, at that time I was unaware of the behind the scenes manipulation of the October Surprise.
I will also tell my child that I once voted for George H. W. Bush because I saw Michael Dukakis as a weak candidate. Little did I know about Iran/Contra and the underhanded and illegal abuse of powers by Reagan and Bush. Little did I know about the excuses that would be made for lying to Congress or the legal manipulations allowed to circumvent punishment for crimes in the matter. And I did not know that Republicans of questionable character, such as G. Gordon Liddy and Oliver North, would be raised to levels of importance and influence by the right wing media.
I will tell my child that I have watched the Republican Party shift too far to the right and shift too far in favor of corporatism, deregulation -- leading to giant monopolies, and defense of illegal activities of Republican presidents while they excoriated a Democratic president by any means possible. I will tell my child that the Republican Party has fought legislation that would have held corporate corrupters accountable for their actions. I will tell my child that the Republican Party supports corporate welfare at the expense of individual taxpayers.
I will tell my child that the tragedy of the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001 might possibly have been avoided had the Bush administration not been asleep on the job. They had ignored a significant report on terrorism compiled by Gary Hart and Warren Rudman. They had warnings that an attack was imminent. Yet, intelligence agencies failed to connect the dots necessary to protect the safety of Americans. Instead of taking responsibility for failures, the Bush administration sought to place the blame on President Clinton, even though the Clinton administration warned them about Al Qaeda and Osama Bin Laden.I will tell my child that the Bush administration took the unprecedented stance of discouraging a full and open investigation into the attacks of 9/11.
I will tell my child that George W. Bush has endangered the lives of her generation by declaring all out war on an "axis of evil" that may mean the loss of lives of Americans and citizens of the world for years to come over the possibility of negotiations and diplomacy. I will tell my child that George W. Bush is the first and only president to ever advocate a first strike policy. That is not what this country is supposed to stand for. I will tell my child that a possible reason for this is a grasp for power and the desire to remain in power. I will tell my child that it is immoral to be so enamored of power that it takes precedent over the lives of human beings all over the world.
I will tell my child that George W. Bush reversed environmental policies, endangering the lives of Americans, for the financial benefit of large corporations.
I will tell my child that the Bush administration is possibly the most secretive ever in our history. Bush has used executive orders to prevent the release of historical documents regarding the Reagan/Bush administration. What is he hiding?
I will tell my child that George W. Bush made claims in the election of 2000 about safeguarding the surplus, but instead it is now gone and the federal government is back into deficit spending and accumulating debt, which will now be the responsibility of her generation. I will tell my child that this has occurred for the benefit of the wealthy, while programs that Republicans hate, which benefit the needy and the middle class, are cut. I will tell my child that this is a two-fold policy because Republicans hate to help the needy, therefore they rob the federal budget of funds through tax cuts for the wealthy making it difficult, if not impossible, for funds to be available for needed federal government expenditures.
I will tell my child that, yes, Bill Clinton was morally wrong to do what he did in the Lewinsky matter. I will also tell my child that the exposure of his personal life was a result of a Republican vendetta against a sitting president and that the Clinton investigation started out with possible financial irregularities, some 20 years old, and turned up nothing. This was not enough for the Republicans, so they continued to investigate even though the majority of Americans opposed what they were doing.
I will tell my child that now that George W. Bush has possible corruption in his background through Harken Energy, which is much more serious than Whitewater, the Republican Party hypocritically makes excuses for it and covers it up. I will tell my child that Vice President Cheney's refusal to disclose information regarding the development of the nation's energy policy is a serious breach of ethics and even illegal.
I will tell my child that the Republican Party manipulated the voting process in election 2000 in order to steal an election. I will tell my child that the denial of voting rights to anyone in this country is an abomination. I will tell my child that because the Republican Party fought dirty and because the Supreme Court failed to act impartially, they were able to put George W. Bush in the White House.
I will tell my child that the mainstream media is owned and controlled by only a few corporations, which keep a tight reign on what is reported. I will tell my child that the truth about what occurs in America is no longer reported on television news or written about in major newspapers; the best source of information is through the Internet and one must search and read consistently in order to form opinions and decide a stance on the important issues.
I will tell my child that right wing pundits and commentators, such as Rush Limbaugh, have achieved great wealth and power by lying to the American people. They are not to be trusted.
These are the incongruities and hypocrisies I will point out to my child. May she learn from my experience that now prohibits any vote for a Republican from me into the foreseeable future. May she and her generation work to make America a better place. May they live long, happy, and peaceful lives.
Of course, this will only occur if Bush is removed in 2004!
What will you tell your children?
HAPPY NEW YEAR!
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Rebecca Knight is a native Tennessean, who grew up in Nashville, and currently resides in a small town near Nashville. Ms. Knight's political awareness evolved through the civil rights movement, the Vietnam era, the Watergate era, and the cold war. The debacle of the 2000 election increased her sense of responsibility for political activism. You may contact Rebecca Knight via e-mail at tennessee_gal655@yahoo.com.
© 2002 by Rebecca Knight
