Today, I read the latest news that George W. Bush, our president, compared his political opponents in America to Nazi appeasers. He didn’t mention anyone by name, but I’m sure Jimmy Carter and Barack Obama were taken aback at the slight from such an aloof leader. If there was ever a more inappropriate but frankly ironic quote, it’s GW calling others out for their support of the Nazis, not only because of how Bush approaches foreign policy, but also because of his own connections to the aforementioned reign of terror.

I’m not going to come here and call Bush a straight up Nazi. However, we have to take a look at some of his “best” policies, including the nixing of habeas corpus and the focus on military brute force to achieve capitalist gains. We have to see his human rights record, and we have to see just how out-of-touch he is with the rest of the country and its needs. We have to look at his penchant for invading countries, and selling it back to his country as a means of creating some ill-gotten national identity. In the process, he implicitly ostracizes huge sections of our citizens to keep the people distracted, confused, and under his prying thumb. From most liberal pundits’ estimates, he’s overtly stricken 9 out of 10 rights off the Bill of Rights, and the year’s still young. What’s more, he has a not-so-clandestine set of leaders who support him all throughout every industry that apparently matters to this country, like Fox News Network, for instance, and every branch of government.

I could go on about his administration’s policies, but his “cowboy” persona (when he’s really from Connecticut, and attended Yale U) has made a huge rift between our country and the rest of the global community. The many accounts of American tourists who get harassed, belittled, or even feel a bit of shame for what their government’s done to the Middle East are reaching an all-time high. Yet, even with his political gaffes, missteps, and stubborn refusal to make amends with any section of people he’s offended with his antics, he’s got the nerve to condemn someone’s actions when they’re actually trying to find peace … on their own dime.

On days like this, when we are still searching for peace within ourselves and our neighborhoods, we have to understand how messages from the “leader of the free world”, a term I haven’t used for him ever, really affect that. Every time he calls out peace makers as war mongers, he gives license to those who propagate war to continue doing so. Every time he vaguely mentions helping people in this or any country, it’s really a call to special corporate interests to strip the people of any real help. Every time he so much as grins, most perceptive people feel like they’re being lied to, and yet he fancies himself the judge and jury for people heading any world peace efforts.

This is not an endorsement for Barack or Jimmy, but we can’t get peace until the proletariat get a piece, too. I’m an optimist, so peace is really the only rationale for me. But I also understand that the precedent for how any top-down structure runs starts from the head, and frankly, ours has no interest in peace. But he does have an interest in misappropriating it. Another misstep for this administration, surprise surprise.

jose, who wonders if he’ll ever invite anyone to guest-blog at his page …