George Walker Bush Presidential Library will be built at Baylor. No one has said anything to that effect, but I beleive it to be likely. This is a guy that is different, he is going to do something very different from other Presidents. He will choose a religious university to hold his papers for all time and eternity. This will be the final signal to the Christian right that he was one of them all along. Even if he goes down, as long as he is singing "Jesus, Jesus, three bags full...," they will believe and accept him on blind faith, and he will be one with them.
The choice of a library. Most choose hometown, prestegious university, or close urban location. Bush will choose Baylor, because it is Baptist and it is close to Crawford. Liberty is out because in is not in Texas. Bob Jones would be an eternal embarrassment. BYU - they're not real Christians. If Baylor doesn't work out, then it will be Abaline Christian University. (It is fairly close to Midland.) That would say "I am really different and I need to be therefore judged differently.
And this brings us to the topic of legacy. Let's drop all the political pretending and bullshit for a moment. This is not about whether Bush was a good president or not. It is about signaling, defining, and hopefully learning. The question is "how did George W Bush influence the world?" In my mind, with the possible exceptions of Lincoln, Roosevelt, and Kennedy, no other president will have a bigger impact on democracy as an institution. One of Bush's stated diplomatic goals is to spread democracy. His actions during his presidency will actually spread democracy throughout the middle east and the world.
Think about it. Since George W Bush became president, more and more people in America a politically active. We are still slow, but we are awakening to the duties of the citizenry in running a democracy. Yes, many of these people, my self included, are more active because of the war, fanaticism, and the rawness of his power. But we are more active. Thus democracy is strengthening. In the middle east, while the mullahs are king, people are being introduced to democracy. Even if they fight it, they are interacting with it. If they sit huddled around a pot of tea sitting on a stove, they will discuss democracy. All interaction leaves participant entities changed. People will become more democratic. Symmetrically, democracy will fundamentally change as in incorporates and annexes new cultures. These cultures are different, very different. And their interactions will sand, buff, and shape how we all come together to work together.
We know war is bad. We know that what we are doing is not working. Bush isn't the one paralyzed, we are the ones. Democracy allows for opposition. As there is a need to be opposed, Bush is showing us that we can't go forward using traditional thinking. We have the test case. But the solutions are not going to come from K-Street, the Congress, or the think tanks. Those are all very important, but these guys don't create or think, they implement. That is what their job descriptions state.
But to think. That is not the role of government or big business. That is the right and responsibility enshrined in the 9th Amendment. To think, ...and this is it,...to be free to change one's mind. That is true freedom.
And this is why Bush will be remembered. Because he was so divisive. Because he spoke in plain small town language. He pandered. And by doing that, he divided. Any time there is a division, it is a good time to hold stock in democracy. Democracy gets a workout. And Bush orchestrated it. From the believers he gets support. From the left, he gets scorn. But this isn't about him, this is about democracy. If democracy succeeds, it will be because of W. If it fails, it will be because of W. Democracy will be his legacy. He got more Americans involved, and he got a lot of others talking about it. All of this can only lead to more democracy.
Even if Bush fails, the wars backfire, and America falls further from grace, we as the children of democracy have to pick up our birthright and march forward. This is democracy. And it is a direct result of the Bush presidency. Thus democracy is being spread as advertised. It is the process of Yin and Yang, the eternal truth.
So the point of all this (and now I will become partisan), before Bush has a chance to issue a signing statement as to what his legacy will officially be, it is our chance to invite people to the democratic process. The matra is that if the citizens do not participate through democracy, this is the type of government you will get: Of Jesus, by the Pharasees, for the rich. But at least he is waking up the population to the risks of a runaway, uncontrolable government. And the responsibility to participate. And the responsibility to think.
Update: (12/26): A couple of days ago, it was announced that Bush would likely build his pyramid, I mean library, at Southern Methodist University in Dallas, Baylor, or the University of Dallas. SMU is the odds on favorite, and it is where Laura went to college -- she is the family librarian after all.
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