George W. Bush and the American Vision, Part 2

George W. Bush

Let's continue our discussion of President George W. Bush's speech at the "Spirit of Liberty: At Home, in the World" conference. During that excellent speech, Mr. Bush decried conspiracy rhetoric and fabricated stories: 

"In recent decades, public confidence in our institutions has declined. Our governing class has often been paralyzed in the face of obvious and pressing needs. The American dream of upward mobility seems out of reach for some who feel left behind in a changing economy. Discontent deepened and sharpened partisan conflicts. Bigotry seems emboldened. Our politics seems more vulnerable to conspiracy theories and outright fabrication."

First, yes, Congress and the state legislatures seem unable to pass the most obvious legislation. Congress has abandoned the usual order for legislation: first and second readings, committee hearings, and floor amendments, as described in any high school government text. Instead, leaders write ridiculous bills behind closed doors, and then express wonderment that they don't pass. The American economy has left many people behind, particularly in the nation's heartland, and yet neither those states' voters nor their leaders are willing to face the problems, preferring instead to rattle out absurd conspiracy theories (birthers, Benghazi, and so forth). Just recently, Fox News published an opinion column about a long-discredited conspiracy theory about Hillary Clinton. Mr. Bush himself has been the victim of 9/11 truther conspiracy theories, which hold that the World Trade Center collapsed from a controlled demolition and that the huge airliners that everyone saw crash into the buildings had nothing to do with it.

In fact, the Bush administration itself seems to have uttered many statements during the run-up to the Iraq War that turned out to be false. 

When people face problems, appealing to unproven conspiracy theories does not solve them. Although the extreme mistrust that  justifies those theories might be sometimes valid, it is wrong to believe horrible things about people without proper evidence. Real conspiracies do occur, but people should believe them only when they have proof.

My motto is, "truth wins." Truth often takes a long time to win, and it wins best when people will pursue it. Although George W. Bush has been far from perfect, I commend this excellent and important speech.

Please see my earlier post about conspiracy rhetoric.

Department of Defense photo