Wil's Rant

Jon Stewart's Daily Show displayed a photo taken of George W. that gave me pause for thought today. The shot was taken when George W. was introduced to a young lady who had lost her mother in the 9/11 attack. When told who she was George spontaneously went up to her, put his arms around her and gave her a long hug. I have commented long and hard on the policies of George Bush. This picture brought home to me the George that I don't know. Yes, a George who is compassionate towards others. This hasn't changed my opinion of his policies, actions, or capability of leading the U.S. out of the mess that is Iraq. But it has changed my opinion of the man. While I don't think he can adequately deal with the corporate powers that run the U.S. government, he does appear to be the kind of man that I might call friend. Most people I know could not deal with the challenges of being the U.S. President. The job seems to age all of them prematurely. I can't say that I have any clue as to what might actually work in Iraq or the U.S. Only time will really tell. The U.S. political system is just as warped as the Canadian, the only difference being that in Canada, our failures don't affect the world the way the American ones do. George appears to honestly believe in what he is doing. Kind of scary that. The problem really comes from the fact that his hands may be tied when it comes to making real change in the U.S., even if he wanted too. Canadian and American politics have more similarities than differences. They are both terribly flawed. Fact is, I can't think of any system that would be any better considering the current state of human evolution. That doesn't mean that things cannot change, only that the change must be gradual and from within if it is to have any chance of success. We must all become more aware, tolerant, and informed if our voices are to have any affect. We must also find ways too limit the input of corporations on politics. Corporations have no human identity. They are above the laws of individuals because of this. As such, they should not be able to control political parties because of their cash donations and power to layoff and move factories to get their way. Perhaps it has become time to make it illegal for any contributions to be accepted from any organization that does not directly represent the will of the people. This type of meddling has no place in a true democracy.