George W. Bush and the Personality Cult
- by Mary Shaw
www.OpEdNews.com
Democrats and other liberals and progressives watched in incredulous
awe as George W. Bush won a second term as U.S.
president. How could so many people vote against their own best
interests? How can they believe that they voted for "moral values",
when the basic core values that make this country great, like access
to jobs, health care, education, and the American dream, are being
slowly whittled away by the Bush administration? How can we explain
Bush's inexplicable popularity? Perhaps the answer lies in the
theory of the personality cult.
Personality cults sometimes form in power-hungry regimes, such as
Stalinist Russia or Mao's China. Through extensive government-led
propaganda campaigns, the leader is elevated to an almost divine
level. He is venerated as a liberator and a savior in the war
against good and evil. He wins the blind adulation of an effectively
brainwashed public. And he is neither questioned nor held
accountable.
Much of Bush's popular appeal comes from his well-rehearsed
down-home Texas style. Most people don't seem to realize that Bush
grew up in New England, a true Connecticut Ivy League Yankee, every
bit as white-bread as John Kerry. It's easier to disarm the public
when you can make them think that you're one of them.
Combine the good ol' boy demeanor with religion, and you've got
yourself a ticket to red-state glory. Bush overcame a nasty drinking
problem when he found religion. This became his new addiction, his
new obsession, his new escape from reality.
In July of 2004, Bush told an Amish group in Pennsylvania that "God
speaks through me." He believes that God wanted him to be president,
and that God is working through him, even as tens of thousands of
innocent Iraqi men, women, and children die in a war based on lies.
It's God's war. We're the good guys. We're fighting the evildoers
over there so that we won't have to fight them over here. This is
truly an ingenious way to win the trusting hearts of Middle America,
who have been programmed to fear the evil Muslim barbarians who want
to kill us because they "hate our freedom." It's easier than
thinking. So they follow him like sheep.
There is no disagreement allowed. "You're either with us or against
us." If you're against us, you're also against God.
And you're a terrorist and an evildoer. Easy choice.
Another factor is consistency. Some people thrive on consistency.
There were many in Russia who said that communism was better than
democracy and capitalism because it was predictable. George W. Bush
is consistent. He sticks to his guns, no matter how mountainous the
evidence is that he is wrong. And he never admits to a mistake. Many
view this as "strong", rather than stubborn, arrogant, or immature.
It's easier than engaging in critical thought.
Most of the credit for the Bush administration's public relations
bamboozlement goes to Karl Rove, George W. Bush's Senior Advisor and
chief political strategist. Rove's propaganda machine has turned
Bush into a messiah while at the same time demonizing all of his
political opponents through lies, smear campaigns, and an ingenious
repertoire of dirty tricks. All in the name of doing God's work and
protecting our "freedom" and "democracy".
Rove distracted the American public from the war in Iraq and the
failing economy by focusing the election on three key
issues: God, guns, and gays. Added to the formula was a hefty dose
of fear, the true mind killer. Rove had the public believing that,
if Democrats won the election, we would take away their bibles, take
away their guns, and force the whole country into same-sex
marriages. Despite the sheer absurdity of it, it worked.
How much longer will the American people willingly dig their own
graves?
Opponents to the Bush regime may take some solace in the fact that
history shows that personality cults can collapse very quickly upon
the ousting or death of the leader. While an ouster isn't likely
until 2008, we can get a good head start by working tirelessly
towards the election of more Democrats to the Senate and the House
of Representatives in the 2006 mid-term elections. By restoring a
balance of power in Congress, perhaps some steps can finally be
taken to effectively break through the propaganda machine and expose
the lies and recklessness of the Bush administration to the
hypnotized electorate. Perhaps then they will then see that the
emperor has no clothes. And perhaps then the real evildoers shall at
last be held accountable.
Heaven help us if we fail.
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Mary Shaw is a Philadelphia-based writer and activist. Her views on
politics, human rights, and social justice issues have appeared in
numerous online forums and in newspapers and magazines worldwide.
E-mail mary@maryshawonline.com.
Read more of Mary's writing in the archive:
http://www.opednews.com/archivesShawMary.htm
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