It is a time of freedom and fear, of Gaia and of borders, of many paths and the widening of a universal toll road, emptying country and swelling cities, of the public bought into privacy and the privacy of the public sold into invisible data banks and knowing algorithms. It is the time of the warrior's peace and the miser's charity, when the planting of a seed is an act of conscientious objection.

These are the times when maps fade and direction is lost. Forwards is backwards now, so we glance sideways at the strange lands through which we are all passing, knowing for certain only that our destination has disappeared. We are unready to meet these times, but we proceed nonetheless, adapting as we wander, reshaping the Earth with every tread.

Behind us we have left the old times, the standard times, the high times. Welcome to the irregular times.


 
In a gesture of respect, George W. Bush was invited to speak to the annual convention of the NAACP (National Association for the Advancement of Colored People). Mr. Bush, in a gesture of disrespect sent through his spokespeople, declined the invitation, saying he had something more important to do that day. Bush is the first president since 1920 to miss a NAACP convention. It's not just this year. The man has pulled the same disappearing act each year. What is George W. Bush's problem with black people?

It's not just that George W. Bush is the first president since Herbert Hoover was in office not to speak to the NAACP convention. It's that, as Bush says in his own words, "I would describe my relationship with the current leadership as basically non-existent." Cozy relationship with Kenny-Boy. No relationship with one of the largest organizations of black Americans. Hm.

It's not even just that George W. Bush is the first president to maintain a non-existent relationship with the NAACP. Bush also has managed during his years in office never to meet with the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights even one time. The Leadership Conference on Civil Rights is the pre-eminent lobbying organization for black Americans, with a history of establishing contact with legislators and presidents stretching back more than fifty years. What's Bush's problem here?

George W. Bush has also never met, not even once, with the National Organization of Women (NOW). Yes, they're feminists, and we all know George W. Bush has trouble with feminists. But a large portion of the American population would call themselves feminist, and while he is in office George W. Bush is supposed to act not out of concern for his comfort zone, but as the president of all Americans. All of us. Even the ones who disagree with him. Instead, he's shut us out. If you're not with him, it seems you must be against him in his mind, and therefore not worthy of recognition. What small behavior for a man occupying such a large office. (Sources: Associated Press July 8, 2004; Bloomberg News July 9, 2004; Chicago Tribune July 10, 2004; Louisiana Weekly June 21, 2004)

Posted by James Cook at 7:14 AM. # (permalink)




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