Thought a bit about this Bush thing today; I think this will be my last word on the subject. Others can have their own last words at their discretion.
Part of the problem, I think, is that different people are talking about different things. Some are asking whether there is sufficient evidence to convict him of wrongdoing, and insisting on a presumption of innocence.
I have nothing wrong with a presumption of innocence, if we're talking about punishing crime. I'm not talking about punishing crime, though. I'm talking about bestowing trust.
Imagine that you're doing research on a company, a potential investment. As you read the documents you start to get that little prickly feeling, a sense that something isn't right. Maybe the projections just seem a little too optimistic, maybe the business plan glosses over areas that you know are not quite so simple. For whatever reason, little red flags pop up in your mind.
You don't run out and demand that the CEO be prosecuted and the stock delisted.
You don't buy the stock either.
I'm not saying Bush deserves to be impeached, or prosecuted. I just don't think he deserves to be trusted.
Of course there aren't very many people I do think deserve to be trusted, and none of those are politicians. I believe that the primary civic duty of every citizen of a democracy is to be suspicious of all authority, all the time. If we fail to question authority, we will quickly find ourselves in a position where we will have to resist authority.
But that's just me. I hope I didn't offend anybody, but if I did, tough shit. |
