Not words I'd associate with our current Commander in Chief. But I certainly appreciate his words today about the late President.
Now only if he'd take a lesson of his own and follow in Ford's example.
There were several points throughout the speech that I found surprising, particularly considering the speaker.
He (Ford) belonged to a generation that measured men by their honesty and their courage.
Has that generation left us? Is it a generation that we willingly walked away from or did it simply disappear? Who took us away from that generation and why aren't we walking back to it instead of just referencing it as a historical event?
In President Ford, the world saw the best of America -- and America found a man whose character and leadership would bring calm and healing to one of the most divisive moments in our nation's history.
Today the world seems to see the worst of America. From Jakarta to Mexico to Iraq and Afghanistan, we're known as the big schoolyard bully, that one that everyone allies with out of sheer fear and desperation.
And why is that?
Because of our leader. Where is that man/woman who can lead us back to a time of calm and healing? Think about our country today and you think of war, economic slumps, living in a constant state of panic and anxiety.
Gerald Ford showed his character in public office. As a young congressman, he earned a reputation for an ability to get along with others without compromising his principles. He was greatly admired by his colleagues and they trusted him a lot. And so when President Nixon needed to replace a vice president who had resigned in scandal, he naturally turned to a man whose name was a synonym for integrity: Gerald R. Ford. And eight months later, when he was elevated to the presidency, it was because America needed him, not because he needed the office.Integrity?
Dick Cheney, Tom DeLay, Haliburton, Karl Rove, Bush v. Gore, Mark Foley - what integrity is left in today's politics? America longs for it back at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. Do we really have to wait till 2008 to see it again?
Gerald Ford assumed the presidency when the nation needed a leader of character and humility -- and we found it in the man from Grand Rapids. President Ford's time in office was brief, but history will long remember the courage and common sense that helped restore trust in the workings of our democracy.
What will Bush be remembered for? (Hint - see above.)
Typically in times of reflection and grief, one is able to find pride and admiration. That seems to be the reoccurring theme for our country (for the most part) up until 2000. Now all that comes to mind is strife and scandal, fear and death.
Where is the courage and the common sense?
Where is the integrity and stewardship?
Where have all the Gerald Ford's gone?
9 comments:
I thought the same thing when they brought Ford to Washington Saturday.
A speech by Ted Stevens, who throws fits when denied his pork, followed by Hastert, who covered up for a congressman who hit on teenagers (amongst other things), followed by Cheney, Mr. War Profiteer himself. To hear all these guys talk about "honor" really blows your mind.
But Bush tops them all.
At least Nixon had the brains and awareness to realize he did wrong. George will never get there. George will always be defiant and petulant in the face of the truth.
Bush's approval ratings are slipping below Nixon's. If he does what I think he'll do on Iraq, single digits are a distinct possibility...but all the moderate Republicans have pretty much become Democrats or lost re-election.
People....I posted this comment once and liberal lucy decided to silence any opposition to her opinions so here it is again:
I will tell you where a great generation went....they went with Planned Parenthood, an organization started by Margaret Sanger who was a known associate of the Ku Klux Klan and believed in Eugenics. Here purpose was to get rid of the black population by putting abortion clinics in highly populated black areas so these women would abort their babies and there would be less black people. Our great generation of integrity who would have either kept their babies or given them life now is gone in place a generation of women who selfishly kill their babies because they got pregnant and didn't want to live with the consequences of their choices. And before you get on your soap box about women who have been raped and got pregnant, many of them did not want abortions either and were coerced from loved ones into having the procedure done. So we now have a generation that discards life. That great generation also went away with the ACLU who wants to protect child molesters, tear down our ten commandments and anything referencing God, which is what our forefathers fought and died for. Yup.....that is where our great generation went.
People....I posted this comment once and liberal lucy decided to silence any opposition to her opinions so here it is again:
I will tell you where a great generation went....they went with Planned Parenthood, an organization started by Margaret Sanger who was a known associate of the Ku Klux Klan and believed in Eugenics. Here purpose was to get rid of the black population by putting abortion clinics in highly populated black areas so these women would abort their babies and there would be less black people. Our great generation of integrity who would have either kept their babies or given them life now is gone in place a generation of women who selfishly kill their babies because they got pregnant and didn't want to live with the consequences of their choices. And before you get on your soap box about women who have been raped and got pregnant, many of them did not want abortions either and were coerced from loved ones into having the procedure done. So we now have a generation that discards life. That great generation also went away with the ACLU who wants to protect child molesters, tear down our ten commandments and anything referencing God, which is what our forefathers fought and died for. Yup.....that is where our great generation went.
People....I posted this comment once and liberal lucy decided to silence any opposition to her opinions so here it is again:
I will tell you where a great generation went....they went with Planned Parenthood, an organization started by Margaret Sanger who was a known associate of the Ku Klux Klan and believed in Eugenics. Here purpose was to get rid of the black population by putting abortion clinics in highly populated black areas so these women would abort their babies and there would be less black people. Our great generation of integrity who would have either kept their babies or given them life now is gone in place a generation of women who selfishly kill their babies because they got pregnant and didn't want to live with the consequences of their choices. And before you get on your soap box about women who have been raped and got pregnant, many of them did not want abortions either and were coerced from loved ones into having the procedure done. So we now have a generation that discards life. That great generation also went away with the ACLU who wants to protect child molesters, tear down our ten commandments and anything referencing God, which is what our forefathers fought and died for. Yup.....that is where our great generation went.
People....I posted this comment once and liberal lucy decided to silence any opposition to her opinions so here it is again:
I will tell you where a great generation went....they went with Planned Parenthood, an organization started by Margaret Sanger who was a known associate of the Ku Klux Klan and believed in Eugenics. Here purpose was to get rid of the black population by putting abortion clinics in highly populated black areas so these women would abort their babies and there would be less black people. Our great generation of integrity who would have either kept their babies or given them life now is gone in place a generation of women who selfishly kill their babies because they got pregnant and didn't want to live with the consequences of their choices. And before you get on your soap box about women who have been raped and got pregnant, many of them did not want abortions either and were coerced from loved ones into having the procedure done. So we now have a generation that discards life. That great generation also went away with the ACLU who wants to protect child molesters, tear down our ten commandments and anything referencing God, which is what our forefathers fought and died for. Yup.....that is where our great generation went.
What's the matter liberal Lucy I thought you wanted an educational experience not an indoctrination experience. Are we trying to silence the opposition by not posting my comments. I tell you what, how about we have a blog debate. I work with Republicans and Democrats alike - for a living! You are wrong by not posting other peoples comments.
LL- jamie is one of those twisted people who thinks everything relates to abortion.
These are the kinds of folks who end up bombing clinics and shooting doctors- potentially dangerous individuals who really need to seek help for their delusions before they hurt someone.
Save that IP address- it might be needed someday.
The refresh button is what allows your posts to be shown...thanks for the quadruple post, but just because you repeat yourself over and over doesn't make it true.
I'm pro-life, but anybody that suggests planned parenthood is part of the Ku Klux Klan is way off base. Planned Parenthood does, indeed, counsel women who have abortions (which I disapprove of except in cases of rape, incest, or when the life of the mother is endangered by the pregnancy); but they also help women who want to carry their baby to term find prenatal care.
If you really care about where a generation went wrong, it's in the fact that safe-sex education was discarded in favor of abstinence only education. It's in the fact that a stratified healthcare system exists, and (sadly) the cost of a pregnancy will bankrupt many women. It's in the fact that adequate daycare does not exist for the working poor.
And because of all this, children die too. A true "pro-life" approach leaves the bombastic rhetoric behind, and works to support life--both inside and outside of the womb.
So what does that mean?
1. Laws that mirror the Pennsylvania Abortion Control Act (state funded 24-hour waiting periods, mandatory counseling that includes information on adoption, and parental notification with a judicial bypass).
2. A national healthcare system that includes prenatal care. If that obstacle was removed, many more women might carry their babies to term.
3. Tax incentives (both for the woman carrying the baby to term and for the adopting family) for adoption.
4. The adequate funding of all public schools. The extension of school hours to match working hours.
5. Publically funded pre-school programs starting at 2.
6. Low-cost, semi-publically funded daycare programs for children under two. (This could be accomplished with grants, or tax incentives for businesses that have a low-cost daycare program).
That, and not the trite and bombastic rhetoric of the right-wing in America, is a truly pro-life agenda.
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