In his collection of essays in Fear and Loathing, Hunter S. Thompson said of President Nixon, and the politics that existed during those years; “An extremely intelligent Bayou Rat called Honeyrunner was once elected to the city council in DeFuniak Springs, Florida. Nobody called him human, but they say he did okay on the job. It would take a really sick and traitorous mind to compare the President of the United States to a Bayou Rat, regardless of intelligence... By almost any standard of responsible journalism, the President must be referred to as “human.” It is one of those ugly realities ...”
What a shame he wasn't writing about Bush Jr., though the comparisons have all been made. Few people liked the POTUS, or wanted him to continue in office in 2004. But, by whatever means, the vote was counted in his favor. Now, large portions of our population are wondering what will happen to the vote in 2008. The predictions are running rampant, everything from, “It's his second term-he can't run again,” to, “Just wait. Something will happen to prevent the November elections.” As though one could call the last varnishing we endured, elections.
And yes, it is true that there is a certain primitive aspect of our psyches that comes out when not much else appears as though it will work. When we are truly afraid of the power some thing-or some one has, we want to propitiate it. In other words, praise it to the sky and make it feel good so that it won't hurt us. We see this in all our older religions, and we see it in the way paid journalists praise whichever thing happens to be at the top of the political heap.
Sadly to say, a portion of our society does actively fear the present administration, and many of their number sing its praises the loudest, something a well-bred cat would never do. It's truly a lousy trait-but we're only people-you've gotta love us.
