Born again Bush

I was thinking about my previous post, the one I found at Cookie's blog, that alleges that Bush's former prof says that not only did Bush admit to using connections to get out of VN, but also argued that people are poor because they are lazy.

I have been thinking about that allegation. What if it is true? Most of us on the left believe it immediately, because this matches the Bush we see every day. He has shown a ruthlessness toward the powerless and a willingness to use his political power to help his already wealthy friends. The VN story is clearly true. He clearly got out of service and then got out of that Guard duty in a way that others--those without connections did not.

But so what? Haven't people known about this stuff for a long time? Why do my conservative Christian friends still vote for this man? I think it all hinges on his supposed conversion. I say "supposed" because, who knows?

Think about it. His youth and adulthood are everything we don't like in this society. He is his generation's Paris Hilton--drinking and philandering his way through college and adulthood. He uses his privileged upbringing to get out of VN and then later to start failed business after failed business. He is a drain on society--especially compared to some of his class mates or people his age. Kerry, Clinton, others--all made contributions to their society in a way that this guy didn't.

So, why the adulation? It has to be that his conversion erased all that. I think that there are enough people who understand the language of evangelical Christianity in this country, and most of them respond to that "born again" idea. Marvin Olasky, one of Bush's really weird religious mentors, even says it that way. He said that Kerry's problem was that he was "once-born" while Bush had been "born again." This somehow allows Bush to escape his worthless youth--and allow conservatives who resent such youths to vote for him several times.

I am not saying that there is no such thing as conversion or that people cannot change their lives. I believe in the redemptive qualities of Christianity, but I don't think they are magical. I don't believe that God just reaches down, snaps his finger, and "bam" a drunk is no longer a drunk. Not saying that God doesn't help people change. I just don't believe it is like flipping a light switch.

People who change bad behavior--abuse, alcohol, etc--have to do a lot of hard work. There is no evidence that Bush has done any of that. Nor has he demonstrated a transformative effect--except that he no longer drinks. That might be an improvement, but a lot of us fear that if you don't address the reasons behind your drinking, you will just turn that behavior elsewhere.

But back to the "born again" reference. I think that language has bought Bush a tremendous amount of blindness among conservative Christians, and I really resent that. The same people who were hyper critical of Clinton's character can now only praise Bush. With that level of discernment, it is no wonder that we are headed toward a country with huge gaps between the rich and poor; a science community gutted by anti-evolution nonsense; an environmental wasteland; and a morality dominated by concerns about nudity and homosexuality. Christians can do better. And should.