Note: This was written in the summer of 2004 following my freshman year of college. I look back on it now and am happy with the changes we are seeing. But I offer it up in order to give insight into where some of my thoughts and feelings have evolved from:
Coming home from school the summer of my freshman year at Elmira, I noticed something really odd about my house. My liberal-Democrat registered parents had changed. The first sign should have been the Bush/Cheney sticker that adorned the car, that should have scared me but no. It wasn’t until I went to get a glass of water and I stood up to see the Bushes were staring back at me, only then did I scream. No way around it, my parents had become Republican. The very people who raised my siblings and me on the greatness of JFK had gone to the “dark side”.
In regard to politics, varying opinions have always been welcome so I asked my mom the question “Why?” She answered, “Bush has done a good job. You should support him too.” Did I miss something here or just not drink the Kool-aide? Not really sure what happened but I walked away just as any confused child would. I didn’t know what to make of this sudden change of heart.
The change in my house isn’t an isolated incident. Ideas are changing everywhere and not for good. In post 9/11 America, a right/wrong mentality has taken hold. Discussion and debate, the core values of American politics have gone to the wayside. It feels like if you disagree with the government, your opinion is invalid and will not be listened to. This government appears is able to do no wrong and when does act incorrectly; no one really seems to notice.
Anyone ever heard of a man by the name of Jeff Gannon? If you didn’t I am not surprised. His real name is James Gunkert- Jeff Gannon was his alias. Under this alias, he entered the White House pressroom and asked Bush-friendly questions. While I have no problem with conservative reporting, I do have a problem with the guy being allowed in the room. I ask how did a guy with an alias get into the briefing room. How did he get passed the FBI and Secret service checks that are one step away from a trip to the proctologist? That is what I would really like to know. But in all honesty, I doubt we, as citizens, will ever see anymore of this than a 30 second news story. I firmly believe if this were a Democratic president, we would be seeing news story after news story exposing James Gunkert as a Democratic pawn and victim. C-SPAN would be broadcasting hearing after hearing in both the House and Senate on “Gannongate”. Committee after Committee would be exposing how the Bush administration helped this “reporter” get pass both Secret Service and FBI background checks that are one step away from a visit to Gitmo. I would be willing to place money on a possible impeachment trial. The American people would know so much about everyone involved. But in this Republican majority government, I don’t see any sort of possible action being taken. I don’t think anything will ever be made of it. Bush has always seemed to receive a free pass in the media and for the American people; this situation shows no real change on that stance.
The scary thing is this feeling of “following the crowd” is spreading. A recent study released by the First Amendment center said that 1 in 3 high school students believed that the government should censor the media. 36% said that newspapers should get government approval before publishing a story. I personally think the media might be intrusive but come on. This is what the Bush machine has done to our generation. We should be the ones forcing change instead of conforming to our parents. What is happening? This trend is what Ben Franklin warned the founding fathers about, you probably heard your history teacher say it a million times: “Those who would give up Essential Liberty to purchase a little Temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety.” Ben Franklin said this in warning to never give up your civil liberties in exchange for a temporary solution. The study should prove to support that the American people are continuing a dangerous trend. Who knows where we will end. I hope we don’t end up not asking the important questions that must be asked or ignoring issues because they are “too touchy”. Americans shouldn’t be scared to speak out against what we see is wrong rather we should be encouraged.
Works Cited:
Tappo, Greg. http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=676&u=/usatoday/20050131/ts_usatoday/usstudentssaypressfreedomsgotoofar&printer=1
CNN.com http://www.cnn.com/2005/ALLPOLITICS/02/09/white.house.reporter/
Fox News. White House Reporter Using Fake Name Quits. http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,147087,00.html
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