Monday, September 18, 2006
Freedom
Neal Boortz recently met with President Bush for an off-the-record roundtable with several other noted conservative radio talk show hosts. Boortz has stated that he will not quote from president per the rules of the 90 minute dialogue. However, he did provide this observation that I thought was worthy of some thought.
I came away from the meeting with some clear impressions. President Bush is a man of deep religious faith, and strongly believes that anyone who truly believes in God will also have a burning desire to live free.
I'm not sure how I feel about this seemingly harmless statement. And I admit that if we weren't bogged down in a gruelling war in Iraq, it would be a non-issue. But we are. And so I challenge interested readers and co-bloggers to ask themselves, free of personal bias, whether this is a fair assessment of both the current state and also the history of mankind? Do we really have that burning desire to live free? I realize that questioning such a notion almost sounds anti-American by nature. And, speaking as a gun owner, I personally like my freedom as much as the next guy. But when we look at a history filled with consolidation of power (yes, even right here in America), I'm not sure this notion is as imprinted on the DNA of God-fearing people as much as the president thinks. And I'm even more dubious that it's as common in that part of the world from Morocco to Malaysia where conformity appears valued above freedom.
Thoughts?
I came away from the meeting with some clear impressions. President Bush is a man of deep religious faith, and strongly believes that anyone who truly believes in God will also have a burning desire to live free.
I'm not sure how I feel about this seemingly harmless statement. And I admit that if we weren't bogged down in a gruelling war in Iraq, it would be a non-issue. But we are. And so I challenge interested readers and co-bloggers to ask themselves, free of personal bias, whether this is a fair assessment of both the current state and also the history of mankind? Do we really have that burning desire to live free? I realize that questioning such a notion almost sounds anti-American by nature. And, speaking as a gun owner, I personally like my freedom as much as the next guy. But when we look at a history filled with consolidation of power (yes, even right here in America), I'm not sure this notion is as imprinted on the DNA of God-fearing people as much as the president thinks. And I'm even more dubious that it's as common in that part of the world from Morocco to Malaysia where conformity appears valued above freedom.
Thoughts?
# posted by Jeff Briscoe : 1:10 AM
