Some More On Politics (Essay [Politics])

I tend to spend most of my free time browsing the internet as of the last half year or so, and it's funny how much you happen to come across when trekking through it.

You may have read a post I made earlier called 'Politics' about the disconcerting amount of ridicule targeted at President Bush. I'm well aware that they have good reasons for it, and I must stress again that I know next to nothing about American politics, Bush's policies, or anything else that might cause people to rise against the big B.

However, I continue to find it strange how many anti-Bush websites/blocs out there take an incredibly sarcastic, infuriated, almost anarchical approach to Bush and friends; the ones I've noticed recently are crammed with complete hatred towards Bush, Cheney and the Republican (that is his party, isn't it?) government; every second sentence is riddled in degrading sarcasm and disdain towards the President. It's as if there's something deeply personal behind it, stretching back years and years. I can't help but get the feeling that through all the facts and information displayed that behind it all is just a seething hatred for all things Bush which would pull through even if he abolished world hunger, found a cure for cancer or lifted his ban on same-gender marriage.

Certainly, people can disagree with his policies; the whole marriage thing does appear unreasonable, and apparently he's gotten the Iraq situation into a serious mess. Nonetheless, seems to be more popular to slander him than his policies. The anti-Bush sites generally take a much too violent, unprofessional approach to professing their views which makes them come across as rather hurtful to even read. Blogsforbush.com, for example, takes a much calmer, untainted-by-emotion stance when supporting their party (which is what I believe they concentrate more on, rather than attacking the opposition directly and constantly).

I wonder if part of the reason for this angry feel of anti-Bush sites (even the term 'anti-Bush' rings with this sentiment) is that religion enters the war-ground as well; Bush has publicly professed himself to be a dedicated Christian, and apparently a fairly fundamentalist one (his marriage policies are alleged to be related to this). I note that these same anti-Bush sites are all over issues such as the separation of church and state (which I was pretty sure had already happened decades ago). From this, it's much more understandable that they would be annoyed - religion is a very deep issue, and when two worldviews are forced into conflict in such a field as politics, there are bound to be a lot of angry words tossed around. When we discuss religion, we effectively discuss the very things which make up an individual's entire perspective of everything, be they religious or anti-religious; few things will get someone worked up more than someone else undermining their beliefs (as Bush must do for many people with his marriage principles and open admittals of his spirituality). Not to undermine by any means the reasons such people have for disapproving of Bush's government, but that's my two chips anyway.

I'm not going to stop stressing that I'm no expert (nor even novice) when it comes to politics in any form; I'm just stating what comes to my mind as I observe the ongoing debates.

In case you're wondering just why I'm writing so much today, it's probably because I'm not feeling very well at the moment; I don't have the energy to do much else. Mind you, I find it quite refreshing to write about matters like this - I never mention my views on things usually. I need some rest now, though. *Sniff* Bye.  ¶ 8:14 pm