Bush Hatred and Obama Euphoria: Two Sides of the Same Coin

Peter Berkowitz maintains that Bush hatred and Obama Euphoria are two sides of the same coin in an Wall Street Journal op-ed on yesterday. I have reprinted segments here but it's a great article which should be read in it's entirety here.

He writes:

"Now that George W. Bush has left the harsh glare of the White House and Barack Obama has settled into the highest office in the land, it might be
reasonable to suppose that Bush hatred and Obama euphoria will begin to subside.
Unfortunately, there is good reason to doubt that the common sources that have
nourished these dangerous political passions will soon lose their potency.
At first glance, Bush hatred and Obama euphoria could not be more different. Hatred of Mr. Bush went well beyond the partisan broadsides typical of democratic politics. For years it disfigured its victims with open, indeed proud, loathing for the very manner in which Mr. Bush walked and talked. It compelled them to denounce the president and his policies as not merely foolish or wrong or contrary to the national interest, but as anathema to everything that made America great.In contrast, the euphoria surrounding Mr. Obama's run for president conferred upon the candidate immunity from criticism despite his newness to national politics and lack of executive experience, and regardless of how empty his calls for change. At the same time, it inspired those in its grips, repeatedly bringing them tears of joy throughout the long election season. With Mr. Obama's victory in November and his inauguration last week, it suffused them with a sense that not only had the promise of America at last been redeemed but that the world could now be transfigured.

In fact, Bush hatred and Obama euphoria -- which tend to reveal more about those who feel them than the men at which they are directed -- are opposite sides of the same coin. Both represent the triumph of passion over reason. Both are intolerant of dissent. Those wallowing in Bush hatred and those reveling in Obama euphoria frequently regard those who do not share their passion as contemptible and beyond the reach of civilized discussion. Bush hatred and Obama euphoria typically coexist in the same soul. And it is disproportionately members of the intellectual and political class in whose souls they flourish."(emphasis added)

He goes on to say that:

"Bush hatred and Obama euphoria are particularly toxic because they thrive in and have been promoted by the news media, whose professional responsibility, it has long been thought, is to gather the facts and analyze their significance, and by the academy, whose scholarly training, it is commonly assumed, reflects an aptitude for and dedication to systematic study and impartial inquiry."

Well, that's a foregone conclusion as the media as we knew it is dead!

He continues:

"Some will speculate that the outbreak of hatred and euphoria in our politics is the result of the transformation of left-liberalism into a religion, its
promulgation as dogma by our universities, and students' absorption of their
professors' lesson of immoderation. This is unfair to religion.

At least it's unfair to those forms of biblical faith that teach that God's ways are hidden and mysterious, that all human beings are both deserving of respect and inherently flawed, and that it is idolatry to invest things of this world -- certainly the goods that can be achieved through politics -- with absolute value. Through these teachings, biblical faith encourages skepticism about grand claims to moral and political authority and an appreciation of the limits of one's knowledge, both of which well serve liberal democracy."(emphasis added)

Lastly he opines:

"In contrast, by assembling and maintaining faculties that think alike about politics and think alike that the university curriculum must instill correct political opinions, our universities cultivate intellectual conformity and discourage the exercise of reason in public life........Rather, they infuse a certain progressive interpretation of our freedom and equality with sacred significance, zealously requiring not only outward obedience to its policy dictates but inner persuasion of the heart and mind. This transforms dissenters into apostates or heretics, and leaders into redeemers."(emphasis added)

In the words of my dearly departed Mother..."My Lord and My God! This is precisely why I am scared out of my wits for Mini-me as she goes off to college. I am so afraid that my baby is going to be indoctrinated not only with liberal ideology which is bad enough but with contempt towards others who see things differently. Case in point -- just look at how the masses view the black conservative. Is there more contempt for any other group of people? Doesn't feel like it.