More on Gore

Here is another commentary about Al Gore by Dave Johnson at the Huffington Post. What I find particularly intriguing is he is saying that not only is Bush and Company responsible for the mess we find ourselves in today, but in fact WE are all responsible. The media for not questioning presidential policies more thoroughly, Congress for believing without sufficient proof and we the people for allowing our elected officials to go along on this folly.

Gore says our country's problems go beyond the manipulations and corruptions of Bush and Cheney. He talks about what has happened to this country that we could have ever allow a Bush and Cheney and their lies and evasions and incuriosity to take the reigns of our government - and allowed them to stay there after it became clear what they are about. And he has some very insightful things to say about the historical forces that brought us where we are, and how they might guide us through this.

At times he sounded like a guru, talking about "truthforce," about how honesty enables us to see clearly without the distortions and distractions that come from constant TV exposure to trivia like gossip about Paris Hilton and Britney and work to push deadly situations like the Iraq war and global warming from our discourse. This is a man who has thought about what is happening to us, and who has the vision and experience to come up with some answers.

He asked how could not just the President, but the Congress, the media and the rest of our system of checks and balances and watchdogs have let Iraq - which he called the worst strategic blunder in our history - happen? How could he public have been fooled into thinking that Iraq had anything to do with 9/11? It's not just Bush who did that - it's all of us. Bush is just a symptom. We are ALL responsible for the decisions our country makes. So we all have to get involved and start fixing this broken system. Democracy is not a spectator sport.

Indeed Mr. Vice-President, Democracy is not a spectator sport and it time for all of us to get more involved in what we believe. Go volunteer for a candidate, talk about politics amongst your friends and have an open discussion about this issues. The more people that are involved the better our country will be moving forward.

I have to admit I am glad to hear Gore talking about being honest, truthful and upfront on what he believes and looking at the genesis of where we are now. Not just saying what potential constituents want to hear, like many Democratic Senators who once voted to support the war in Iraq and now to explain the difference in their opinion. To have any politician or national leader talk about honesty and truth, regardless of them running or not is refreshing. Whether or not you believe or agree with Mr. Gore's political believes and positions, I would hope we can all agree that we can go much further with an open and honest dialouge of issues and positions, rather than simple 30-second sound bytes, which is what we are generally force fed even if we want more information.