My hope for America

Rather than a blow-by-blow of the President Bush’s speech, I wanted to focus on one word and attribute that he uttered several times. This is my concise contribution at recapping the SOTU, for those of you who skipped it.

While painful, I hung in to the bitter end. Towards the end of his oratory, he apparently decided to offer the citizenry some hope, because up to this point in the speech, I hadn't found anything that I was hitching my wagon to. Beginning the sectionwith this; “In recent years, America has become a more hopeful nation.” After this, he indicated where American's hopes should reside.

“A hopeful society depends on courts that deliver equal justice under the law.”
--With a court stacked with right-wing ideologues and lackeys to carry the water of a conservative agenda and under gird the final corporate takeover, I’m not hopeful about our future in the area of justice.

“A hopeful society has institutions of science and medicine that do not cut ethical corners, and that recognize the matchless value of every life.”
--An obvious ode to his pro-life base, uttered in code, but obvious in its intent. For those like the late Christopher Reeves, and others suffering permanent debilitating injuries, stem cell research offers hope of a possible cure and an opportunity of living a life of fullness. This president insists on removing that hope.

“A hopeful society expects elected officials to uphold the public trust.”
--And since this president heads an administration riddled with cronyism the likes of which America hasn’t seen for decades, we aren’t hopeful that the president will do anything meaningful to instill some hope for those of us who think our elected officials should obey the laws and honor the constitution like the rest of us are required to.


“A hopeful society gives special attention to children who lack direction and love.”
--Actually, under funding programs that level the playing field for all children might give us the optimism that you insist we ought to have. Not enacting the disastrous, No Child Left Behind that leaves schools and programs grossly short of funds and forced to implement rigid pedagogy that robs children of the joys that creative instruction can bring.

“A hopeful society comes to the aid of fellow citizens in times of suffering and emergency -- and stays at it until they're back on their feet.”
--Actually, Mr. President, your administration’s and handling of disaster relief in the aftermath of Katrina, made me hope to God that I never face a disaster of those proportions. For nights on end, I saw witnessed the poorest citizens dying in the streets of one of our largest cities, while you lauded one of your political cronies, Michael Brown, who was under qualified and incapable of running FEMA.

Mr. President, your speech, full of lies, propaganda and once again, pandering to fear and offering nothing but empty rhetoric, left me and many other Americans with only one hope. That we the people will wake up, band together and run your ass, along with your administration's, out of the people’s house. That’s the glimmer of hope I’m clinging to, the morning after your speech.