Why bullies never win.
Thank you, Sean Penn, for stating so simply what is childish, simple-minded and seriously wrong with the right’s assessment of Obama’s recent encounter (Huffington Post):
I know President Chavez well. Whether or not one agrees with all his policies, what is certainly true of Chavez is that he is a warm and friendly man with a robust sense of humor. To treat such a man coldly is akin to spitting on him. As a country we’ve done enough of that. Say what you will, but it has only resulted in the self-celebration of our smirking spitters, while costing us international respect, American lives, and left wounds in the hands of our children’s future. The Cheneys, down to the O’Reillys and Hannitys and Limbaughs, effectively hate the principles upon which we were founded. They are among the greatest cowards in all of American history. I applaud an American President who’s tough enough…to smile.
The saddest outcome of our last eight years has been the absence of common sense. Even in a leader we disagreed with there was an assumption that foreign policy required finesse. Reagan knew this. Clinton was a master at it. It’s only been recently, with the advent of GW Bush, that the “bully” approach has been given any credence.
If you asked the average conservative person in 1985 whether nastiness, aggressiveness and arrogance would help us in our relations with our world neighbors, you’d get a quick “what, are you fucking kidding me?” look. Ask the same conservative dittohead back in 2004 and you’ll find you’re in a conversation with a frat boy. It’ll start with a gutteral “yeaahhhh!!!”, move into macho posteuring and end with the suggestion that those who don’t feel the way he does about Bush’s approach are traitors and pussies.
In America (and certainly other countries), with every new Leader comes a new personal style - a style that the country adopts into it’s culture. We saw this with the new Monarchy in Britain during the 1870’s when Queen Victoria gave rise to the buttoned-down “Victoria Era.” We’ve seen in recent times the youth culture’s rise during Kennedy, the down-home southern values that followed Carter’s four years, and the political correctness that followed Reagan. If that leader is a spoiled child, like Bush has been, that same me-first attitude poisons the overall culture. If that person is a true adult, one who takes responsibility for his mistakes and treats other with dignity and respect (unless they absolutely don’t deserve it), then we have a country and a culture that shows some promise and maturity once again. It’s seems that Obama is that man.
All I can say is thank God we’re rid of George W. Bush and his ilk. He’s been a poisonous force so lethal it almost did us in. But American’s are not stupid, even though they can vote that way sometimes. Bullies, in the end, never win.
