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An American Way of Life - By Jon Eekhoff

May 14, 2004

"The President believes that it's an American way of life, and that it should be the goal of policy makers to protect the American way of life." - Ari Fleischer, May 7, 2001.

Protecting our American way of life has been the President's goal these past three years, but what is this "American way of life"? What are the ideals that President Bush stands for and what has he done to bring his vision to our country? Looking at President Bush's record is one way of determining what he sees as an American life.

First off, in President Bush's world telling lies is okay, it is part of the American way of life. These lies can be little white ones ("The economy is improving") or they can be big, fat ones ("Iraq has weapons of mass destruction"). As Bush sees it, lying is okay as long as you are on his side, it is American to lie. In the world of politics, lying goes hand-in-hand with speaking and so it is understandable that Bush sees this as an American trait.

In Bush's America, big business can do no wrong. When Haliburton was caught over-charging for oil, what was their punishment? A fine and more government contracts. When Arthur Anderson was caught cooking the books for Enron, most people were outraged, but after a few hearings and the appearance of an investigation no one went to jail. Ken Lay is still out walking the streets, while people who invested in his company lost everything. It has become very American to encourage American companies to find less expensive labor overseas; While that doesn't seem very American, in Bush's world it is.

In the Bush America, the rich deserve more than the poor. The rich get big tax breaks because they are hard-working and not lazy like those poor people. Even though our country is going into incredible debt, it is okay, because in Bush's world the rich will save us all by hiring more people to work for them. The rich will reinvest in our country. They won't go out and spend the extra money on themselves. They won't use the money to fund a candidate who will give them big tax breaks.

This American life also includes spying on each other. Americans can't be trusted to be good Americans unless they are watched closely. Now the FBI can "sneak and peek" into your house without your knowledge - they can use roving wiretaps, they can track all of your incoming and outgoing calls, they can get your personal records from the bookstore, library, video store, church, and bank without you ever knowing. In Bush's America you can even be held without a hearing if you are thought to be a terrorist. While all of this sounds more like something from Stalin's Russia, it is Bush's American way of life.

As Americans we can also attack other countries without provocation. We can invade, take over the government, prop-up our own leaders and kill anyone who disagrees with us. It has also become American to imprison people, degrade and torture them and take pictures. Our American way of life must be protected from these people thousands of miles away from our borders because in Bush's world they are a threat.

In Bush's world we are the good guys. We are God's gift to the world. We bring freedom and righteousness wherever we go. Through our good works, the world has been blessed. Any American who doesn't agree with Bush's America is unpatriotic, or hates America. Traitors like Ambassador Wilson who question Bush's motives are punished. Traitors like Richard Clark are publicly smeared. This is all part of being an American.

In Bush's America it is okay to destroy the natural world for a profit. We should be able to waste natural resources because Americans need these things to preserve our way of life. We should never be asked to sacrifice our way of life, or to change our way of life. We should be able to drive the rest of the world into ruin to preserve our way of life. Why should we change?

How long will we be able to preserve our American way of life? Bush's America is an imperial America and like all empires this one will come to an end. Bush's vision of an American way of life is alienating the US from the rest of the world. In Bush's America this doesn't matter, Bush's America will go on in perpetuity. Unfortunately, when Bush's America comes to an end, we will be the ones paying the price. Our children will be the ones that will be left with a legacy of greed, violence and debt. I hope they appreciate all that this American way of life will bring them.

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Jon Eekhoff is a teacher in Western Washington, and one of the 5 greatest basketball players to hail from Lemoore, California.