L and W

It seems that L, who I wrote about a couple of posts ago, and our President, George W Bush, have a similar view of reality. They are both stuck in a paradigm of persecution, they are furious at the enemy, and they don't see their own role in creating the situation. Both live with a very distorted view of reality.

The bigger problem is that while L is a pain in the ass to me and the local PD; because of GWB, people die. There are also other consequences.

I have seen four families directly affected by the war in Iraq. I have seen two soldiers, and the effects have been clearly devastating. They both came back from the sands of the Middle East scared and withdrawn. They have both been having a great deal of trouble with jobs and relationships.

I have also seen a family with a son who has been sent over twice. I have not seen the son. The family is tense all the time. They fight with each other in ways they never used to. For a while everyone was supportive. They sold lots of those stick-on ribbons that say "Support the Troops." Now, their friends just worry about them and their son. People seem to stay away.

Another family has a girl who had a high school sweetheart who had enlisted in his Senior year. The war started in the semester he was about to graduate. They got married before he left. They had not even gone out that long and they probably never would have married in other circumstances. But it was romantic and dramatic.

Last I heard he had done three tours. She forgot who he was. She went out with all of his friends and eventually divorced him. She felt terrible and was afraid it would kill him. She was with him about two months of the three years. Both their lives are completely sent off track. It will take a few years to re-group.

But GWB says he feels for these people,(but not much for the 100,000 who have died in Iraq).

It is unethical to diagnose from a distance, but the man is delusional, and unlike L, we and the world pay dearly for it.