Bob Herbert’s column in Jan. 25th’s New York Times condemns Bush’s refusal to even acknowledge the tremendous suffering his presidency has brought on the planet and calls on the American people to stop waiting for politicians to take care of things. Excerpts below:
The State of the
Union speech was boilerplate at a time when much of the country, with
good reason, is boiling mad. The United States, the most powerful
nation in the history of the world, seems paralyzed. It can’t extricate
itself from the war in Iraq, can’t rebuild the lost city of New
Orleans, can’t provide health care for all of its citizens, can’t come
up with a sane energy policy in the era of global warming, can’t even
develop a thriving public school system.If it’s true, as
President Bush told his audience, that “much is asked of us,” it’s
equally true that very little has been delivered.The Democrats,
delighted by the wounded Bush presidency, believe this is their time.
Like an ostentation of peacocks, an extraordinary crowd of excited
candidates is gathering in hopes of succeeding Mr. Bush.But such a timid crowd!
Ask a potential
Democratic president what he or she would do about the war, and you”ll
get a doctoral dissertation about the importance of diplomacy, the
possibility of a phased withdrawal (but not too quick), the need for
Iraqis to help themselves and figure out a way to divvy up the oil, and
so on and so forth.A straight
answer? Surely you jest. The Democrats remind me of the boxer in the
Bonnie Raitt lyric who was “afraid to throw a punch that might land.”…The most
effective answer to this leadership vacuum would be a new era of
political activism by ordinary citizens. The biggest, most far-reaching
changes of the past century – the labor movement, the civil rights
movement, the women’s movement – were not primarily the result of
elective politics, but rather the hard work of committed
citizen-activists fed up with the status quo.It’s time for
thoughtful citizens to turn off their TVs and step into the public
arena. Protest. Attend meetings. Circulate petitions. Run for office. I
suspect the public right now is way ahead of the politicians when it
comes to ideas about creating a more peaceful, more equitable, more
intelligent society.The candidates
for the most part are listening to their handlers and gurus and fat-cat
contributors, which is the antithesis of democracy. It’s not easy for
ordinary men and women to be heard above that self-serving din, but it
can be done.