George Clooney not withstanding, Bush is not McCarthy. Though not as radically evil or smart, Bush's phenonmenon is closer that of the WWWII Axis leaders. McCarthy's power was solely fear-based. Really powerful fascists also have true-believers.
City Bike's (CA Moto rag) Gabe Ets-Hokin's recent column described our situation perfectly. "Squids" are inexperienced, usually young, guys out on twisty mountain roads trying to impress their passengers with their race-replica bikes, which they will crash sooner or later.
Perched on the back are barely-clad hotties even more naive about riding technique and the ride they're on. Kind of like the true believers riding on Bush's high-powered machine of a country, which he is bound to crash. "I just wish it wasn't me on the back when they high-side."
The only productive course of action, the only way off this hot bike piloted by someone who thinks "Yeehaw" is a foreign policy, is to keep trying ways to reach the true believers, trying to understand what really motivates them, and appeal to their reserves of long-term interest and compassion.
Grass-roots efforts may be the only effective mechanism now since the political opposition and press seem to have been gutted, unless Bush self-destructs so badly that his own pack jumps him.
Weird Views ©2005 Charles Petrie