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When I heard what President Clinton had said last night on CNN, I was pretty taken aback. I had seen him play things a little safe before, but this was a BIG surprise as Im sure it was for most of us.
For me I have concluded that as much as most of us want to defend Clinton, the consequences of his words are already being used by those we knew would use them. In truth, non-intentionally or intentionally, he took the easy way out and chosed to minimalize a situation that has caused hundreds of deaths and horrific consequences. It was wrong and it lacked any conviction,courage or commitment to those standing up to the Administration.
With that said, there is a great lesson to be learned here and I think we have to look at things from further back to get a clearer perspective on why he said it, and why would he make excuses and grant more power to the ones who are abusing their power already? I have wondered often how the Republicans War on the Clintons has changed and effected them. God love them, Hillary and Bill are still standing, but of course so much has been done to them and to Chelsea, and continues to this day.
Without a doubt it was hugely disappointing to hear those words come from Clinton's mouth last night, but if you look at the big picture, is it really too much of a surprise, when you think of what the Republicans did to him and the lack of support that he received from other Democratic leaders and not to mention, us? For those of you who think I am going to justify this deal, HANG ON....I am not justifying his rather shocking choice of words last night, nor am I putting the blame on Democrats. We know who is ultimately responsible for this whole mess anyway.
What is more important is looking at this American system of ours that interrogates those try to implement positive change and intimidates them ultimately into submission and ineffectiveness, and even occasionally into doing harm. I think its important to look at this, and at his perspective and response, and Im trying to look at ways in which we can see why this type of betrayal happens and learn to embolden our leaders, other Progressives and our overall cause. I think there are solutions where our leaders and individuals at large won't choose a response that justifies dishonesty. In short this is not just Bill Clintons problem, this is a epidemic effecting America. I think if you look at the overall picture here, the cause of why people give into abusers and the solution become pretty apparent. If you read any literature on bullies it is true that individuals who have been continuously maligned, cruelly treated and harmed over a signficant amount of time will often begin to comply much more easily with their offenders and resort to at times justifying their unjustifiable behaviors. So, here we have Bill and Hillary who were stalked for 8 + years by in this case a largely funded political group, who continues to assault them to this Day, at any opportunity. Just a few days ago we read where Bill and Hillary will have to pay the legal fees leveled against them in a bogus and basically purposeless lawsuit.
Talk about taking the wind out of your sails. So why then would they choose to justify an offenders behavior?
Unfortunately, this is the aftermath of chronic incrimination and intimidation This is an issue that sorely needs attention in our political world as well as our American society at large. Read any book on bullies and that is often what happens to the victim if the intimidation has been severe enough.
I believe as well this is a sterling example that shows us the TREMENDOUS and vital importance of standing up for our leaders, and standing up for anyone who is being unfairly abused. If we don't support the leaders who have Americas best interest at heart, like the Bill Clinton we HAVE known, and so many other mainly Democratic candidates, how can they possibly stand up to bullying and unjust oppositional forces that are on the attack every single day?
In truth, if we look at it honestly, most of us will admit we never fully backed Bill Clinton from the beginning. Perhaps we were in a state of denial but we were much quicker to judge him and agree with the media than take a more objective and honest look at what was truly happening. It was not until after he had gone through hell and back were we there to question the abuse and say, wait a minute could we have been a little more supportive.
The answer is yes we could have and should have been much more unified in our support, and the same could be said for standing stronger behind Al Gore. It seems to me that Bill and Hillary lived for the most part, in a gold fish bowl of isolation and when they dared to venture outside and attempted to be themselves, they were bombarded with an insurmountable barrage of scorn, hatred and mean-spiritedness. Where were we? Where were other Democratic leaders to come to their defense? Perhaps we didnt know then what we know now. That almost all that was hurled upon them was nothing more than unfair accusations and lies.
I think what happened last night was the result of a leader who has been hit so much by opposition, that they have succeeded in draining the fight out of him.
It also is a tragic lesson to us all to see the consequences of not supporting ALL our good leaders and allowing media to dictate a perception of a leader that we know to be wrong. I love what Howard Dean says about the importance of being unified and proud of who we are. We must now learn what happens when we fail to stand up for our leaders and for each other. If we want to see candidates who have the courage and conviction to be honest, then we have to protect them and defend them, and all other good leaders.
Its not about Republican and Democrat as much as it is right and wrong. We have to build relationships with good leaders, call their offices, and let them know we are backing them 100%. We also have to make an impact and work to minimize the influence of special interests and lobbyists and MAXIMIZE the influence of all of us American citizens.
And when our leaders are unfairly attacked, we let it be known through contacting media and Washington that we are watching and we don’t like what we see. Think about it. Isnt that what most of us learned is what this country is all about? Standing up for what is right? Thats where Clinton fell short last night, and that is where all of us fall short when we feel overwhelmed by opposition.
One more thought, it would also be a good idea for DU'ers to look at ways to be more effective and unified and ORGANIZED here, perhaps creating groups to work on the various issues facing us, and how to build our relationships with each other as well as our leaders.
Sorry for the long windedness tonight. Apparently had a few thoughts to share**
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