Liberal or Conservative?

I’ve been thinking about political labels lately and trying to figure out where various people fit in. Perhaps you could help me.

If someone believes strongly in preserving the U.S. Constitution, especially the individual protections offered by the Bill of Rights, is that person a conservative or a liberal?

What about someone who believes that the best way to achieve peace is to prepare for war? And that if the country does commit itself to war, it should do so only when it is prepared to go all out and win the damn thing as fast as possible?

Are you liberal or conservative if you want to conserve the environment? Are you Republican or Democrat if you believe the government should not spend more than it takes in, except in cases of national emergency?

If you believe the government should leave people alone and let them live their lives the way they see fit (i.e. “the pursuit of happiness”) so long as they aren’t harming someone else, does that mean it’s okay for people to marry whatever consenting adult they so choose? And if not, why not?

Should schools be allowed to favor one student over another based on race, and, if so, is that a liberal or conservative stance? And then there’s health care. Is it liberal to leave millions of fellow citizens uninsured and dependant on, say, Parkland Hospital, at the taxpayers’ expense, rather than insure them and keep costs down? Or is that conservative? Or is it just bad fiscal policy, regardless of your political persuasion?

Is it liberal to allow the sale of alcoholic beverages but conservative to prohibit marijuana? Or is it the other way around?

Is it liberal or conservative to crack down on companies that manufacture dangerous products that harm people in their intended usage? It’s conservative, isn’t it, to allow the lawyers who take on all the risks of a personal injury lawsuit for a client to reap her bargained-for reward, right? Or is it liberal because the lawyer sued a corporation?

Of course, slapping a label on someone rather than listening and thinking is easy. But is that liberal or conservative?

Bush's Apology (Not)

The text of the national address you should see, but never will, from George W. Bush.


My Fellow Americans:

Good evening.

I apologize from the bottom of my heart. The most difficult thing for a President to do is make the decision to send our nation to war. It is a decision that should only be undertaken with the greatest care and with the greatest certainty that war is the correct, and last, option. Never should our great nation invade another country on anything but the most solid, indisputable evidence of a threat to us or one of our close allies.

As you know, I came before you in the Spring of 2003 to tell you of the grave menace that Saddam Hussein and Iraq posed to the United States. I told you, and I dispatched then-Secretary of State Colin Powell to the United Nations to tell them, that Iraq posed an immediate threat to our people. I told you then that we had good intelligence that Iraq possessed stockpiles of weapons of mass destruction and was ready to use them. I led you to believe that there was a connection between Saddam and the same group of terrorists who inflicted such horrible damage to our country on September 11, 2001. The United Nations told you otherwise. They said there was no solid evidence that Saddam possessed weapons of mass destruction. The UN, and others, said there was no solid evidence linking Saddam to al Qaeda in a significant way.

They were right, I was wrong. It wasn’t just me, of course. The majority of Congress, from both parties, supported me in this venture. As your President and the Commander-in-Chief of our armed forces, though, responsibility lies with me, and I take the blame.

My administration promised you that Saddam would be swiftly conquered and the country of Iraq would gratefully accept our guidance toward becoming a peaceful democracy in a matter of months. I promised “shock and awe,” but now I must admit that I am the one who is shocked and awed at how badly things in Iraq have gone. We should have foreseen the sectarian strife that was held in check for so many years, in a brutal manner, by Saddam, and we should have had a better plan for dealing with it. Foremost, though, the United States should never have invaded Iraq to begin with.

I apologize to you, the American people, and I apologize to the families of countless others who have lost their lives because of my mistake. May God bless, and forgive, the United States of America.