Former President George W. Bush on the 20th anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks on our country showed Americans the difference between a statesman and a showman.
In a speech at a memorial last Saturday in Shanksville, Pennsylvania, where one of the hijacked planes crashed, Bush honestly and strongly confronted the growing divisiveness, hostility and political battles that have consumed America:
"A malign force seems at work in our common life that turns every disagreement into an argument, and every argument into a clash of cultures. So much of our politics has become a naked appeal to anger, fear and resentment. That leaves us worried about our nation and our future together."
He continued: "I come without explanations or solutions. I can only tell you what I have seen."
Bush didn't recite campaign slogans, didn't call anyone names, didn't make false accusations like so many politicians do these days to drive supporters to their Twitter feeds and toward contributing money to campaigns that promote even more fear and anger.
He spoke of a better America, without hatred. A country where people help each other, where religious bigotry and prejudice have no place. "That is the America I know. ... It is what we have been - and what we can be again."
The former president did not use the somber day to pick a fight.
Unlike former President Donald J. Trump, who went to the fights that night. The showman turned politician provided commentary that evening at a pay-per-view heavyweight boxing match at a Florida casino.
Trump did visit a police station and neighboring firehouse in Midtown Manhattan earlier in the day, though he used the solemn day to claim once again that he won last year's presidential election, loudly complaining about the candidate who defeated him, President Joe Biden.
It's time for the showman to retire from the boxing ring and also the circus ring, and let the better former presidents give the speeches.
Reader Comments(0)