State of the division

Buried someplace in my beat-up "School Memories" box are the fossils of my early political education. Anyone who attended an American school probably received similar papers -- remember the triangle-shaped diagrams linking the words executive, legislative and judicial? As they taught the fundamentals of our government's internal mechanisms, my teachers simultaneously presented one consistent message: our president (regardless of who was in office at the time) is a great man, and we should all hope to be like him someday.\nAs children, we do not question this. If he's the president, then he must be the best man America has to offer. Have we, as adults, found that blind reverence is still the best attitude to have relating to our government leaders? Listening to this year's State of the Union, I reflected on what kind of example Bush is setting for America's youngsters as he stood at that rostrum.\nClearly, many of his assertions are aimed at one fraction of America -- the wealthy, white, Christian demographic. Many Christian values, such as honesty and love for humankind, are admirable traits I hope my leaders possess. \nStill, there is a clear precedent regarding the separation of church and state, which Bush does not appear to recognize. He seems barely aware of the constituents from different backgrounds or of those who do not believe in a heavenly creator, period. His beliefs are not offensive, but his religious egocentrism often rubs people the wrong way.\nOne example of this attitude -- Bush proclaimed the importance of protecting marriage as "a union of a man and a woman." Does this mean he's going to propose an initiative to outlaw divorce and enforce the often-ignored laws against adultery?\nCertainly not. He is simply responding to recent gay marriage cases, reiterating the conservative religious sentiment that homosexual relationships are sinful.\nRegarding Iraq, Bush's statements were laced with the same ugly words that have made me squirm since the beginning of his presidency. He denounced the "thugs of Iraq" and Saddam Hussein's "evil regime." I dislike his immoderate beliefs that America is absolutely good and our opponents are pure evil. No nation on this earth is without its faults -- and whatever happened to "love your neighbor?" If the goal is to eventually create peace between nations, perhaps a more constructive tactic would be to refrain from antagonistic name-calling during times of conflict.\nRegarding our military actions against the United Nations' wishes in 2003, Bush was thoroughly unapologetic when he said, "America will never seek a permission slip to defend the security of our country." With uncompromising statements such as these, is it any wonder that worldwide we are perceived as stubborn Western bullies pushing our culture upon nations we consider to be inferior?\n My younger brother is currently in the third grade. Pretty soon, his teachers will be introducing him to the Constitution, democracy and various notions of patriotism. I'm sure Ryan will soon bring home a scrawled little paragraph entitled, "How I Can Be A Good American." Naturally, the staff encourages children to idolize the president as the bearer of the most sacred office, the most praiseworthy person in the nation.\n Unfortunately, in many ways, I would not be pleased to see him emulate our current president's attitudes. Self-centeredness, superiority and intimidation have never been welcome in my house. Instead, I hope he develops humility, honesty and empathy, matched with a desire to see everyone cooperating. I would be proud if he could experience foreign culture without being condescending and show acceptance to people with lifestyles unlike his own.\nWith any luck, some opposing party will be able to produce a candidate with these credentials by November 2004, making my day at the polls a whole lot easier.