I'm not what you might call a passionate supporter of George W. Bush. In fact, I really don't like him at all. My dislike for President Bush most likely stems from the fact that we have very little in common. He's old; I'm young. He's rich; I'm not. He's Republican; I'm sane. On many political issues as well, there is very little common ground. He's for the arming of all Americans with automatic weapons; I'm for the disarming of policemen and soldiers. He's for the killing of people accused of committing crimes; I'm for the killing of unborn children. He's for the weak separation between church and state; I'm for the abolition of religion. Basically, I disagree with President Bush on almost everything.
This leads to the following question: in the wake of the disaster of Sept. 11, and during our ongoing war with terrorism, what am I supposed to do? Do I support and stand with the president, or do I march around protesting the fact that he exists?
The answer is rather confusing. It is obvious, on the one hand, that we should all support the decisions made by our leaders during times of crisis and war. At the same time, however, it would be stupid and undemocratic to follow dictates from our leaders without challenging and confronting things that don't sit right with us. In other words, there ought to be a balance between supporting President Bush and questioning him when he does things that don't make sense to us (the number of which have been surprisingly low in recent weeks).
Along these lines, it is also important not to get too caught up in the idea of national unity. The nation should be unified, but not in every facet of American life. We should not all go along with what others believe simply to preserve an idea of unity that may be misguided. There are indeed several core ideas around which the nation needs to unite, but beyond these, Americans should still be able to express their own individual opinions of dissent or support. Granted, this will allow people to make outrageous comments during these sensitive times, as Jerry Falwell and Pat Robertson did by blaming the events of Sept. 11 on gays, feminists and liberals. Unfortunately, free speech allows people to express their stupidity. Regardless, we should still allow people to express their opinions, no matter how far they stray from what the "unified" group says.
Congress needs to pay special attention to this fact. Of the many measures passed recently in Congress, several have passed by overwhelmingly huge margins. While this shows the unity and bipartisanship of the Senate and House, it also shows that many congressmen may be afraid to vote their conscience at the risk of being labeled as unpatriotic. At this time however, voting against what everyone else is voting for may be the most patriotic thing to do. For example, a bill passed last Thursday that expands the ways law enforcement can apprehend suspected terrorists was approved by a vote of 96-1. Several senators commented that they voted for the bill only to preserve unity, such as Sen. Jim Jeffords, who stated: "Despite my misgivings, I have acquiesced in some of the administration's proposals because it is important to preserve national unity in this time of crisis and to move the legislative process forward." Sure, it's important to have a sense of national unity, but not if that means relinquishing your role as the people's representative and voting against what you believe. In this case, the bill allows law enforcement agencies to hold suspects for up to seven days without stating specific charges (luckily it was only seven days; the Bush administration wanted to be able to hold suspects indefinitely), among other articles that could be interpreted as infringing on personal freedom and civil liberties. Sen. Russell Feingold, the one senator who recognized that unity is not the only factor that should govern voting even during these times, was alone in defending his beliefs; those who put unity above beliefs have become petty yes-men to President Bush.
If Congressmen turn into puppets of the Bush administration, it could pose a huge problem. This war against terrorism is going to go on for months or even years, as President Bush has warned us. How long will Congress abandon reason and democratic ideals to retain national unity? For the whole time we're at war? Eventually, we will return to dealing with "normal" political issues and the war will simply be a background " will Congressmen still vote for everything President Bush says, simply to preserve "national unity?" I stand by President Bush on the issue of combating terrorism right now, but I sure won't stand by him on everything and certainly not forever.
