Hypocrisy Is Smarter than Stupidity

[Adam's Apple]

Hypocrisy Is Smarter Than Stupidity
By Peter A. Brown for The Orlando Sentinel
June 10, 2005

In our daily lives, we admire consistency in people, yet often we believe it can be the hobgoblin of little minds when dealing with larger forces. How and when -- if ever -- to disregard a principle we hold dear is a test of our value system and of conflicting claims on our moral compass. Especially when national security is involved.

This dichotomy has arisen over the U.S. treatment of prisoners from the war on terror. Most Americans believe U.S. policies should be the government equivalent of the Golden Rule, yet they wonder if a new kind of terrorist enemy requires new ways of dealing with prisoners.

This issue of U.S. officials saying one thing and doing another is arising again about how to deal with friendly, but repressive, governments in Central Asia with large Muslim populations.

President Bush said in his second inaugural address that backing democracy would become the guiding light of U.S. foreign policy. His critics -- and even a few supporters -- scoffed. After all, past presidents have often paid lip service to the ideal. Many later found that protecting U.S. interests required unattractive trade-offs, putting America in bed with unsavory dictators and tyrants.

At various times, other presidents have struck marriages of convenience with the Shah of Iran, various strongmen across Africa and South America, and even Saddam Hussein at one point. Yet almost six months after his inaugural speech, Bush, for the most part, gets credit for being true to his word.

www.orlandosentinel.com/news/opinion/orl-edpbrown10x061005jun10,0,525573.column...

 

[IControlThePast]

Hypocrisy Is Smarter Than Stupidity
By Peter A. Brown for The Orlando Sentinel
June 10, 2005

In our daily lives, we admire consistency in people, yet often we believe it can be the hobgoblin of little minds when dealing with larger forces. How and when -- if ever -- to disregard a principle we hold dear is a test of our value system and of conflicting claims on our moral compass. Especially when national security is involved.

Yes, I remember quite a few mentions of the word flip-flopper, which can be a good thing. It's a good thing Bush flip flopped from what he said when he ran for election in 2000 about "nation building" and the like.

 

[Adam's Apple]

It's a good thing Bush flip flopped from what he said when he ran for election in 2000 about "nation building" and the like.

He had no choice. You will recall that less than a year after Bush was elected, we were attacked by the terrorists on our own soil, which was just the logical continuation of attacking Americans/American property in the Middle East during the Clinton Administration without meaningful response. I am not a supporter of "nation building" by any stretch of the imagination, but if we want to continue our country in its current condition, we can't let these terrorists roam around without interference and do what they want. I applaud Bush for having the guts and courage to go after them. If the terrorist were testing his mettle, they found out in a hurry that he wasn't yellow-belly Clinton.