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THE
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA:
A FATHERLESS COUNTRY
By Judith Haney, Editor
USNewsLink/February 28, 2001
In case it hasn't dawned on my fellow
baby boomers, our collective psychological adaptations as to how we view and accept the
office of President of the United States have changed.
When we were born the world was at war and the returning hero, Dwight David
Eisenhower, was a white headed father figure upon which our nation depended to
restore normalcy.
Via the great white father image that we projected upon President Eisenhower, and FDR
before him, we duped ourselves into believing that the President of our United States
could be counted on to be normal, to be honest, forthright, and dependable. We wanted our
President to be a Harry Truman type of guy who mollycoddled his mother-in-law and abided
by his wife's wishes in most matters other than politics.
But now? Forget it!
All we ask "now" of whomever occupies the White House is that "she/he"
be honest and forthright and careful in their dealings on our behalves. We hope they
will conduct themselves with aplomb and courtesy and behave themselves in public in such a
manner that doesn't embarrass us.
In short, our roles have reversed. "We" have become the benevolent parents, and
"they", the White House occupants, have become "our" charges. If
they misbehave, we punish them, but not too severely for fear of breaking their
spirits. If they refuse to fall in line, we rely on the Fourth Estate to ridicule
and expose them for the vapid, silly, foolish people that they are.
In short, the USA has grown up. And in growing up, we have assumed the rights and
responsibilities of our forefathers. You remember them? They're the ones who fought and
died for our democracy.
So as a benevolent "parent" who is a living, breathing, voting, member of our
American democracy, this is my wish list for the year 2001:
1. that George W. Bush stays sober, exercises every day, and doesn't do anything that will
embarrass the country;
2. that Laura Bush remains steadfastly at George W.'s side, because we all know that if
she caves, George W. is soon to follow;
3. that Daddy and Mamma Bush (Big George and Babs) remain vital and strong and continue to
influence their "boy" to behave himself in public;
4. that the country elects a Democratically controlled Congress in 2004 to counter-balance
George W.'s right wing administration which threatens the stability of our domestic
economy and the lives of millions of poor Americans and the rights of minorities and
women.
5. that we raise our collective voices in outrage if George W. gets too far out of line
with his right wing policies of big military spending and budget cutting for social
programs.
6. that we avoid becoming "passive" parents to the "child" in the
White House so as to prevent the ill informed, unprepared, "child" from leading
our hard fought and won democracy straight to domestic hell in a right wing hand basket! |
