24 October 2004

Your kind is not welcome here

The countdown to November 2 continues:

#9 The practices of discrimination

You may recall that in 2000 George W. Bush ran on the promise that he would be "a uniter, not a divider."  Of all the issues that I disagree on with this President, his claim to bring the country together is the largest.

The President has done nothing but divide this country from his first day in office.  An example of this is his tax cut.  Statistics support the fact that 80% of the Bush tax cuts have gone to the top 1% of wealth in this country.  While it is true that all wage earners have received a tax cut, what is the real advantage of making sure that the wealthiest people receive the biggest break?  Bush is a big-time believer in the theory of "trickle down economics," the premise that if you make more money available to the rich, that they will spend more and eventually that money will trickle down to the poorer classes.

But where do you suppose that money really goes?  Charitable donations?  More groceries?  Investments?  Ah, you're getting it now!  Tax cuts for the rich accompolish one thing, they make rich people richer.  Meanwhile the middle and lower classes continue to struggle.

Here's an idea: give 100% of the tax cuts to the people who need it the most.  Giving more of a break to the people who need it means there's more money floating around the economy.  It's not sitting in banks and brokerage firms helping the rich get richer.

I don't want to get lost on solely economic issues.  This is a discriminatory administration when you look beyond the money.  Bush has never met with the NAACP since becoming President.  This year, when he refused their invitation, he said it was because "I don't like the way they treat me."  He would not elaborate, but I would think that the NAACP might not have a warm fuzzy feeling towards this administration when they do not pay attention to the economic needs of minority groups.  The only time this administration pays attention to minorities is when they try to get them off the voting rolls.

I am saving the best for last.  When was the last time that you remember a sitting President calling for an amendment to the Constitution of the United States that would deny a substantial group of people basic rights?  It's never happened, before W proposed an amendment banning gay marriage in this country.  This is the most offensive thing Bush has done during his presidency, for so many reasons.  Most importantly, there are about 3,819 more important things for the President to worry about than gay marriage.

It's just wrong to suggest that we include a discriminatory admendment inside the Constitution.  We aren't allowed to do anything about guns because the right to own them is in the Constitution, no matter if thousands of people die because of them every year.  Yet the President can propose a gay marriage ban, which is a good thing, because gay marriage will kill THOUSANDS OF NORMAL PEOPLE EVERY DAY...

It truly boggles my mind that something like this causes so much scrutiny in this nation.  I know gay people, and I'd guess that if they were able to be married that they'd be just as good as it as most heterosexuals I know.

The sole reason that the President has supported this amendment is because there is a large constituency of hard core Republicans, the ones that believe that God chose this President, that demand he address this issue.  Unbelievably, there are people in this country that will cast their vote solely on this issue.  Are we back in the 1950's?

Just exactly who are these groups that demand the President support a gay marriage ban amendment to the Constitution?  Check out these two links:

Looks like Kerry-Edwards might be the most friendly White House ever!     

I especially enjoy the part about "destroying the Earth."

(I should note that both of these links were found on Andrew Sullivan's blog)

Why do we tolerate such a message of hate?  It's nothing less than full-fledged discrimination.  It's not right, and it is another in a long list of reasons why Bush and his adminstration have to go.

 

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Thanks so much for this entry. And this series is great-- you are such a good writer.  Let us pray for a good outcome today!!!  --Albert