I listened to a BusinessWeek podcast this morning from immediately following the terrorist attack in Mumbai, India. The conversation between the host and the guest covered the policital impact of terrorism and both praised George Bush for making America safer and stated that this would be his legacy. I beg to differ.
Let's say my kids are sleeping and I run into their room dressed as a monster, brandishing a axe, and start yelling and screaming. My kids would be VERY frightened. Then, let's say, I take off the mask, put down the axe, and start comforting them. Does the fact that I comforted them make me a great dad? No way! The fact is that I'm the main reason they were frightened!! Sure, there are "monsters" out there who may also be axe-weilding murderers, but they're few and far between...kind of like terrorists. Bush wants to get credit for easing our fears, but the truth is that he's the main reason we have them.
Terrorism isn't just an act of violence. Terrorism using fear to control people for political purposes. After 9/11, Bush didn't attempt to ease America's fears. He sought to benefit from them. He used them to help pass the PATRIOT Act, which limited our freedom, and he used them to get re-elected. He wanted everyone to believe that we should fear for their safety if we didn't vote for him. That, my friends, is terrorism.
Bush didn't protect us from terrorism. He became a terrorist. That should be his legacy.
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