Bush will receive the same niceties from us as Reagan did, won't he?

[DerekG]

Forgive me, but the discovery of yet another of Reagan's crimes has left me a bit perturbed. It's nothing really. In the early 80's, the Nestle Corporation had encouraged mothers in countries such as India to forego breast-feeding in order to sell its infant formula products, despite the heavily polluted waterways. The result was lots and lots of dead babies. Nestle was boycotted by every member nation of the World Health Organization, except for the U.S. delegation--a body comprised of Reagan appointees. Ergo, the Reagan administration was complicit in infanticide--all in the name of upholding free enterprise.

It's funny how learning about some of the crimes of a nemesis can leave you numb or even nonplussed, while others make you incensed, isn't it? Well, my horror brought up much acrimony. I recall the day of Reagan's passing, when posters shamed others for offering words that did not fit vaunted decorum. While I tried to do something relatively constructive--encouraging a prayer for the adminstration's legions of victims--I couldn't help but sympathize with those who pointed out that Reagan *wasn't* a nice guy; rather, he was an abominable human being who presided over a murderous regime. More galling was the fact that some of the DUers who admonished the incivility of others were among those who called for Ralph Nader's near eviceration--utterly perplexing, seeing as how Nader, unlike Reagan, hadn't actually killed anyone.

We're going to do the same thing when George sheds his mortal coil in the far future, aren't we? (And let me emphasize *far* future, not simply to quell the wrath of the Feds, but also in recognition that the corrupt often live into healthy, old age)

Since Bush is similar to Reagan in that the image he has fomented looks positively beneficent in comparision to his underlings--by following Machiavelli's advice that "princes should delegate the ugly jobs to other people, and reserve the attractive functions for themselves"--we're going to have to read the same thoughtless and desperate attempts at decorum:

"Well, at least he loved his wife."
"Bush was more of a puppet; he didn't really know what was going on."
"He did genuinely believe in God, he wasn't pretending like ...."


When a man who has cut a swath of destruction dies, please don't tell us that we must be better than said authority figure. By the very nature of Reagan's position and output, there isn't a DUer who could ever be as insidious a man as he was.

[Djinn]

1. Completely and totally agree

unless * dies within a short period of leaving office he'll be remembered as a good natured (false) cowboy (false) who protected Americans with his "War on Terror" TM (false)

I don't understand teh theory that says you have to all of a sudden respect someone who was vile just because they happened to have died, the cessation of breathing doesn't automatically endow someone with goodness.

I wouldn't gloat in front of their loved ones (must be nice to ignore the fact that daddy/husband is a killer) and spray paint their home with "yeah he's/she's dead" but I'm not going to refrain from calling a spade a spade in like minded company.

[FloridaPat]

2. I've learned about all the civilians we've killed over the last 50

years. All the democratically elected governments we've overthrown for the sake of money. All the wars started for oil. All the lies we've been given by our great protector - the US government. I am way beyond sick. Nothing has ever been done.

Some Democrats had said they let Ronnie ride off into the sunset over everything. Bush pardoned everyone. And with Alzheimers, there was really to use to pursue it. We the People have to get our act together and run this country. We have left it up to a bunch of creeps.

[Mechatanketra]

3. More apathy than anything else here.

When Bush dies, like with Reagan, it'll be just another day for me. I hold both in contempt as human beings, but once out of office the damage has been done, and it doesn't matter if they live 5 years or 50 years after that.

But you're right. To some degree, being "uncivil" is actually a necessity, because the "decorum" is a form of whitewashing. I'm not going to be saying "Ha! I'm glad he's dead!" But at the same time, I'm not going to let revisionary history stand ("Oh, but remember when he saved us from terrorists?")

[Still_Loves_John]

4. Well that's not necessarily a bad thing

I think it's natural for people to want to see the best in people when they've recently died. I don't think that has much an effect in the long run, though. Sure, right after Bush dies, people will remember the good in him, but history will remember him much less fondly.