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In fact, she can call him the worst, most vulgar and rude things she can think of...
AND SHE'D BE RIGHT!
In my book, if someone is deserving or guilty of whatever epithets are cast in their direction, no offense has been committed.
Bush insinuating people are traitors is offensive... Anyone calling bush virtually anything is perfectly okay--because he's either guilty of the charge or guilty of enough even worse charges that even if his isn't guilty of the specific insult, it's makes it fair.
Surely most people will realize that Shrub hasn't been unfairly insulted--that he's guilty or guilty of even worse charges? Of course, a large number of Republicans either can't see Bush's guilt or don't see that the indictments made by the aspersions and epithets cast in his direction refer to behaviors that are base/low and deserving of aversion, disgust... repugnance. Many of them don't even get it.
This is a sign, that significant numbers of Americans--mostly Republican Americans NEED mental health treatment. Who knows how many actually need to be institutionalized and how many are beyond hope of recovery or even improvement? Fearful, insecure, harboring violent fantasies and paranoia; it's no wonder Republicans won't be satisfied with any kind of political negotiations and have to have total dominance; it's "War" out there, all or nothing, live or die. They may be right about how harsh the world (referring to the social and economic climate/environment in the U.S. itself) is; but the reason it's the way it is, is because of the Republicans themselves. Their dog-eat-dog mantra about "free markets" and "capitalism" as well as their (mostly successful) efforts to stymie Democratic/Liberal/Progressive efforts to imrove the world and the lives of it's people. One imagines that if they were suffering from headaches, they'd find the nearest baseball bat (or wall) and begin pounding on their heads (a Democrat, on the other hand, would rely on a more rational approach and seek out a couple of acetaminophen (ie. Tylenol)). Go figure.
Two problems; two obstacles--to providing the care people need... First, those who need mental health counseling (or more intense treatment), even if identified by tests (self-administered or provided free via public health initiatives), would never believe or admit they need or could benefit from help. Second, our public health and/or mental health systems are woefully inadequate in capacity to handle even a small fraction of the number who need treatment. No doubt, if we chose to do it, we could help people and our future; it wouldn't take anywhere near the $4 Billion we're spending in IRAQ every week...
Of course, this mental health problem is but one of many. People need to learn more about their government, their Democracy and how it works, about their duties and responsibilities as citizens, about politics and how pervasively it really does affect their lives... and so many other problems... I'm a bit sleepy, but I know there are many more problems that need addressing... the thing is, most of them could be addressed--or at least the groundwork could be laid to bring about major improvements in the future--and that could begin to be done almost immediately. That groundwork is primarly composed of "Education". Education for young people in schools would be the easiest and it's very important, but we mustn't forget adults. We need to develop an approach to lifelong "Continuing Education". Something that assists every adult to become a better person, more successful/productive, more socially effective with improved relationships--any number of things can be built into the teaching of any particular thing deemed socially important. That is, if we need to address "Family Violence", part of the training available might include material to assist the individual have better relationships and improve their social skills in general. Likewise, in providing the training desired by a state's social engineering committee (such a group would be responsible for picking what the priorities are for the given state; and decide how such education for the various issues they pick (as well as those that are requested by the national commitee)), they can make other "individually desirable" training available--on the basis that the individual actually takes the training on the priority issues. If the commitee thinks they need to train their state's people to better understand the electoral process--and to get them involved; they can offer a training course (online and/or in classroom) on that subject (and add associated useful training about politics or whatever), and attract citizens to take it by offering tax breaks or the opportunity to take other "individually desirable" classes ("investing for dummies"; "how to meet women/men"; "how to get into college", "living skills for singles"; "how to cook"; whatever).
Gee, that was a bit much; going into the implementation possibilities when the concept hasn't even been well covered. Oh well, the point is--almost every problem we face in this country is a result of education--lack of it. That means education that people are ordinarly dependent upon their families to learn as well as a wide range of topics. It means a public education outreach of epic proportions; free education; education on topics for which there generally isn't normally any kind of formal education; education that helps people become better people, better citizens, etc... Education that people just didn't pick-up on when they were younger, but that they need to be productive citizens, delivered in a way that no one will "look down on them"--or that they might fear may be the case.
Between changing standard school curricula and the adult/citizen educational opportunities, even difficult problems can be addressed. If the problem can't be changed owing to widespread ignorance, then simply begin training the young people in school about the topic. In ten or twenty years, the problem will have been addressed. The reverse of that is what has happened to us in many cases. Students/young people weren't taught about many important things and one they/we became adults, corrupt politicians, corporations and special interests were able to have their way--while the population neither knew nor cared. It was because people didn't realize how important it was to be very careful in deciding who is allowed to become President (or Congressman/Senator/Governor, etc) that we've had many of the problems we've had. People figured that the President was just a figurehead; relatively harmless; just somewhat important--and surely anyone being presented as a potential President "must" have already been pretty thoroughly screened for mental illness, personality disorders, insanity, lust for power, support for and understanding of Democracy and our Constitution, able to work and play well with others... etc. Alas, that isn't the case. Probably most important was that people apparently didn't know that politicians lie; they believed everything the apparently "good old boy" George said. They also didn't realize that these lies would be repeated and delivered as truth by the media. Unaware that their whole perspective and world view had long been strongly manipulated by Corporations--by controlling everything they ever saw, read or heard through books, magazines, radio and television (and movies; and games; and to some much lesser extent, even the internet), people believed everything they were presented with. Even their school curriculums had long been manipulated--which affected the way they think even if they'd been out of school for a long time. They weren't prepared to understand the magnitude of the LIE. This is educational deficiency; being taught that this happens, to be aware, to be critical and seek the truth--this is an attitude and a skill. Critical thinking, independent thought and knowledge of sociology or social studies, political science, psychology and civics are all necessary--and seem to have been neglected (perhaps it's the fact that people who haven't learned a thing about a subject can manage to pass the class on that subect--even getting high marks--in many or most schools; I know, I did it myself, though thinking back on it, I wonder how I did it).
No Child Left Behind was/is an attempt to dismantle public schools, particularly by intentionally failing to fund it properly (otherwise, it sounds partically reasonable--if you think the funding will be there--and that's the clever part... don't fund it and it becomes the perfect tool by which to achieve the Republican desire to "privatize" education--to ensure fewer and fewer people will have a fair chance to compete as adults; the subjugation and destruction of that troubesome "middle class"--the ones who are always belly-aching about their "civil rights" and "fairness" and "economic opportunity" and "living wage" etc...). Anyway, it did have one painfully needed point; students really need to be tested--if only to force the schools to do a better job of ensuring their students really are learning what they're being taught. Somehow, though, it doesn't do much to guide them, assist them or otherwise actually improve the quality of the training provided. Likewise, we need to create more engineers and scientists, and yet there seems nothing to stimulate such a thing. Free college to students who work hard enough in high-school to show they're capable and deserving--might be one way to help attract students. But "giving away" things for free? To anyone--including minoriities? Oh dear, Republicans won't be liking that idea--they need to learn to share; something that scared, self-centered (including being centered in favor of their own personal social/racial/religious groups) people aren't comfortable with. To be fair, if we were down to small numbers of humans, and we had broken down irreconcilably into racial (or other) groups, it might indeed be counter to one's personal group's chances of survival to give away resources--but since the days of the caveman, we haven't been in such a situation, and anyone who is so regressed as to think/feel that way, really is suffering needlessly--psychotherapy can help...
I'm not expecting we'll actually do anything to help Republicans; though such help would be to our benefit--and probably bring about the eventual extinction of the whole concept of Conservatism. It's not because we wouldn't want to help them--despite the veritable ruin of America they have wrought, and it isn't even because they've been so abusive while they've help total political power--which they obtained through deception and fraud. No, rather it's because even we have been manipulated by their world view--constantly pushed by them and ubiquitously presented to us via the media--that our society just can't do gigantic social things like help people. We've probably even come to believe that national healthcare is impossible, so going beyond and producing a mental-health assistance program for half the population and/or creating a publicly available educatoin/re-education program for our citizenry, is simply something we shouldn't even bother with trying--the expense would be too great.
I'm afraid we may have bought into the notion that "lower taxes" is an important consideration as well. I wonder if we've forgotten that "taxes" are really a person's opportunity to show their social participation or generosity, their chance to contribute to their country and society. Taxes... are good! Of course, it's important that the politicians don't steal them (by giving them away to the wealthy and corporations that don't need it), or misuse them (by funding inappropriate wars of "choice", or wastefully spending them), or wasting them through incompetence. Republicans, of course, have shown us how the government is corrupt, incompetent and wasteful... Of course, the Democrats have shown the opposite with effective, efficient government programs and organizations, and in searching out and punishing instances of corruption. Alas, the Republicans have been in control for enough years that people's relatively short memories have many people thinking government needs to be small enough to drown in a bathtub (who said that? grover nor-quist?). We have to restore people's sense of shared struggle, their "one-ness" as Americans and of the value of Government programs--and remind them that it's "Taxes" that enables such things (and NOT borrowed money/increased debt that pays for them such as the Republicans have been doing). We've got to restore the taxes Republicans abolished and shrunk beyond recognition... but doing so is politically practically impossible or suicide. Increasing taxes will reduce the outrageous profits being taken by corporations--which will make the economy suddenly appear as bad as it is; and we're going to get blamed. Increasing taxes--just saying that will make millions of citizens angry at Democrats, unless we've re-educated the public, and reassured the vast majority of them that the main brunt of the increases will be paid by the wealthy and their Corporations. It's not going to be easy; we still don't have access to the media (the Corporate ownership of which is something we must break up, somehow).
Well, here's to good mental health, better, more appropriate and effective education and... higher taxes on the rich.
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