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Sunday, October 03, 2004

this is why i hate conservative rhetoric...

so...this is an article that was published in my school newspaper...it is a perfect example of oversimplified conservative rhetoric...

Dems fueling unrealistic goals
by: Jake Togerson and Tim Lundquist
After three full weeks of class, Luther students are beginning to realize that school is once again back in session. Students are discovering that they can’t order pizza every night for dinner, that worthwhile studying can only be done in the library and that John Moeller’s Constitutional Law requires more effort than previously planned for.

In short, students are being forced to put their utopian “Animal House” notions of college aside for a reality that is difficult, expensive and whose only tangible benefits lie years away. Why do we do this? Because we know that we must sacrifice the pleasures of today for the treasures of tomorrow. There are some of us who refuse to let go of the “Animal House” fantasy. They complain about school — the cost, the effort — and seem to ignore the facts and circumstances in front of them. Instead of embracing a challenging future, they seem to yearn only for the endless summers of the past.

In much the same way, Democrats have embraced “Animal House” politics in their unflinching criticism of George W. Bush on their quest for political power. While President Bush and other Republicans have rolled up their sleeves and resigned themselves to the idea that peace comes only through victory over the terrorists in Afghanistan and Iraq, national Democrats seem to have sold themselves on the idea that peace comes only through the defeat of George W. Bush.

Just as college students who admire the likes of John Belushi put on their “beer goggles” to ignore their undone homework, Democrats who admire the likes of Michael Moore put on their “I Hate George Bush” goggles, ignoring the thousands of Islamic terrorists in order to focus on their real enemy: Republicans. It seems as if Democrats would rather lose the war in Iraq than the election here at home.

“Animal House” politics are centered on the childlike notion that what feels good today will be good tomorrow. What gets me elected today won’t matter tomorrow. It is the politics of children that the Democratic party has embraced. And we mean that literally. What other major political party would give a twelve-year- old a prime time speaking slot at their national convention? What other political party would fight to lower the voting age in California from 18 to 14?

And what other political party would hold their convention in a literal fortress, complete with armed guards, razor wire and the best security systems in the world and declare “the only thing we have to fear is four more years of George W. Bush,” as Sen. Ted Kennedy did?

That single line best illustrates the “Animal House” politics that a majority of the Democratic Party seems to share. 9-11 was our fault, George W. Bush and Republicans are the enemy, America is the problem, terrorism is a matter for the police or the U.N. and that if we could have avoided the war in Iraq, Osama would be in jail, France would still admire us and Bill Clinton could warp us back to the endless summer of the 1990’s.

It seems as if Democrats think that if they wish for it long enough, these ideas will become reality.

A college student who drinks the night before an exam is a child and an idiot for not recognizing that rewards in the future require sacrifices in the present. The political party that sacrifices long-term national security for short-term political gain displays the same childlike and idiotic behavior. They do not recognize that peace in the future requires direct action today. Like the “Animal House” rules of college, “Animal House” politics might feel great today but will likely give us all a hangover that we will not soon forget.

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