illusionofjoy | Civil Rights

An Associated Press article published today quotes George W. Bush as saying, "there is still work to do" regarding race relations in the United States. Who else is with me in slamming their palms against their foreheads and echoing a resounding chorus of "duh!"

Bush made this statement in First Baptist Church of Glenarden, going on to say that "it is fitting that we honour this great American in a church because, out of church comes the notion of equality an justice." While Martin Luther King Jr. was a minister, I am hard-pressed to believe that he would agree with the Bush vision of where faith could take "this great country." From reading the article, it appears to me that Bush was using the memory of Martin Luther King to push his own narrow-minded vision of what the United States - or what he likes to simply (and inaccurately) call it: America - should be.

To me, Bush has really no place to speak about civil rights. Here is an individual ready to bomb Iraq, using the flimsy excuses that not only is Saddam "a very, very bad man who tried to kill my father" but that he was also in cahoots with Osama Bin Laden. Not that Saddam is the most charming fellow, but once the bombs start falling, nothing is going to bring back all the innocent Iraqis that are murdered for the sake of Bush's witch hunt (which is actually a hunt for oil, but you and I knew that already).

Meanwhile, in Afghanistan, the Taliban have been overthrown, but the country is no better off. Right now, instead of being occupied by the Soviet Union prior to the rise of the Taliban, the country is occupied by U.S. troops. The crime level has skyrocketed, and the puppet leader that the U.S. installed have nary the credibility to get his so-called people to follow him. Still, through all this, the U.S. now have the green light to build an oil pipeline through the nation. It's too bad that the people of Afghanistan won't actually benefit from this pipeline (unless you call an increased cancer rate for those living near it a "benefit").

It would seem that civil rights don't matter much unless you are a citizen of the United States. Then again, I defy anyone to tell all the Americans of middle-eastern descent who were rounded up and arrested merely for their race (they might be terrorists, you know) that their civil rights are being defended. I would say in that regard that Bush is correct: there is still work to do regarding race relations in the United States. Bush could set a good example by ceasing his witch hunt for terrorists and also ending his attack on affirmative action, however you and I both know that neither is going to happen. Let's not forget Bush's busy Texas death chambers and his attempts on the life of the verdict of Roe vs Wade.

The notions of equality and justice can coming out of a church isn't entirely accurate. It is human beings that build the structure and deem it a so-called "house of God." Human beings also quantify the ideas of equality and justice, therefore leaving the notions and their implementation the responsibility of each individual. Some people may come together in a church to try and bring about equality and justice (one would hope), however if the individual does not carry these spirits inside of himself, then no amount of gathers - in a church or any other building - will allow this individual to truly be open-minded, compassionate and fair. Bush knows that equality and justice don't merely come out of a church, which is why he can say these things and pursue the actions he does without fear of the Almighty making a personal appearance to correct Bush's perceptions.

I'm all for civil rights. I'm all for impeaching Bush.