WASHINGTON D.C.—After the midterm elections, I wrongly assumed that many in the American public would cool down the heated rhetoric and refrain from personal and petty political attacks. I stand corrected. Americans are still fighting old feuds and simply interested in political power more than ever. On November 12, Canyon News published a Point of View commentary written by me entitled, “President Bush’s Decision Points.”
Just days later our paper received a call from a very upset reader who felt that I was being too fair or overly fair to the former president. That caller also was furious that I had stated that in my opinion the accusations that President George Walker Bush was a racist were outrageous, unfair and without merit. I was not very surprised that someone who is obviously of a different political party from President Bush would disagree with me. That is why I gave a number of examples which I believe defy those accusations and I still believe him to be an honorable man.
I repeat the points that I made in that editorial about the president. George Walker Bush hired the first two ever African American Secretaries of State, who are General Colin Powell and Dr. Condaleeza Rice, Mr. Bush also in 2006 became the first Republican president in modern time to go before the NAACP and speak on racial equality, a body that is not often friendly toward Republicans. He was well known for encouraging young minorities to finish high school and attend college when he was governor of Texas. Also, before he became governor, Mr. Bush also was co-owner of the Texas Rangers, which was filled with minority players, and most importantly, who can forget that President Bush was the president who gave the most U.S. dollars to fight HIV and AIDS across the African continent in our nation’s history?
What was surprising to me by the caller, was the fact that he left a message on the voice mail of a colleague here at Canyon News, who has an accent. In doing so, he made statements which could be construed as racist by others; he also referred to me as a racist and even called me, “white trash.” I’ve been called a lot of things over the years, but that was the first time I had been called that term.
Certainly I was not offended by the caller, though embarrassed that a colleague bore the brunt of the ire for a column that I had written. Perhaps the caller didn’t realize that I grew up in an area in the country where racism was and remains rampant. I also have been the recipient of it in the past. I’ve been denied entry to places, called horrible names too ugly to repeat, not allowed to join certain clubs and organizations, and yet I on many occasions in this paper have spoken out against the bigotry that our current president and his wife and others in government and public life have endured. That being said, I appreciate every reader’s opinion. I still believe that the facts I previously stated about our 43rd president prove that the man’s heart is not filled with any racial animosity or bigotry. However, everyone in America has a right to his or her own opinion, and thankfully our brave troops fight on a daily basis for our right to free speech, including leaving messages on another’s voicemail.
Photographs are Courtesy: President Bush by George W. Bush Presidential Library and Tommy Garrett by Inbar Television Productions
