Its Time to Run Against Bush

2004 > America

And keep running all the way to November

faster! faster!
Off to a good start
Wave to him
We pass our biggest fan
post-run high
The DC crew
hot, eh?
An admiring fan
Usually I am not the political type. I’m not one to get into heated arguments about government policy or judicial rulings. I try very hard, in fact, to live a politics-free life in the epicenter of American public affairs, and I often succeed.

My more passionate friends, like Scott, Matt, and Chanda, cannot understand this and shake their heads in confusion. How I could not be incensed when Bush concocted his whole smoke and mirrors, oops, I mean 9/11 and weapons of mass destruction Iraq invasion? Why I am not infuriated as we produce a whole new origin and generation of terrorists as we ‘liberate’ a country?

Mostly I have a strong belief that in time, we would find out the truth and our leaders would have to accept the errors of their actions. That when the 9/11 Iraq-al Qaeda link was discredited and WMD’s were never found, Bush would do a public mea culpa and start sacking a few advisors.

That was until this past week, when the pure fiction of what our leaders are saying pushed my bullshit button one to many forceful times. That our President still insists, “There was a relationship between Iraq and Saddam and al Qaeda, because there was a relationship between Iraq and al Qaeda,” is beyond me.

Besides the tragic logic of “Because I say so”, the September 11 Commission stated emphatically; “We have no credible evidence, that Iraq and al-Qaida cooperated on attacks against the United States.” And despite evidence of contacts between the terrorists and the dictator during the 1990s, “they do not appear to have resulted in a collaborative relationship.” Hell, even “two senior Bin Laden associates have adamantly denied that any ties existed between al-Qaida and Iraq.”

You would hope that in the face of all that Bush would accept reality, or at least wince in realizing his errors, but I think the fool really believes his own bullshit. Apparently Bush took seven minutes to understand what an aide meant when he suddenly whispered that a second plane has hit the World Trade Center that, “America is under attack,” and he’s still trying to figure out where those weapons of mass destruction are.

So now I have to shed my shield of indifference, and get off my fencepost of indecision. Its time for me to jump into the fray and make my voice heard. In typical Wayan fashion, I’m doing it with a bit of style. I’m gonna Run Against Bush!

Every weekend, motivated electorate gathers in parks around the country to go on group fun runs and show our displeasure with this administration. Today was my first with the DC chapter and I found it quite empowering.

We ran from Dupont Circle down around the White House and back, or about three miles. Far from the booing and heckling I was expecting, we were met with cheers and clapping on almost every leg of our run. From tourists snapping photos to cars honking and even Secret Service agents riding alongside, it felt more like a victory lap than a protest.

We’ll see if I am sober enough to run at 10am every weekend, but this first run was invigorating and I can�t wait to do it again. Next time, I’ll get the blue shirt memo, and sport a Run Against Bush t-shirt. Hey, maybe I can convince my two cousins to sport the shirts in our upcoming 4th of July Triathlon in the heart of Bush-love country, Texas!


9 Comments on “Its Time to Run Against Bush

  1. Haha! Thanks for my first laugh of the day :^)

  2. [PS: my comment was directed at Tree Beard, or Three Beard, whoever – not you Wayan; I’m laughing *with* you brotha, with you]

  3. I feel similarly. As I noted to someone who questioned the same thing about my position:

    “I could flood my journal with my own messages of political agenda, with links to news and information that I hope to enrage everyone else with as much as I’ve been enraged. But when it comes down to it, the only thing that changes the minds of people in passionate political binding are those who’ve been led very quietly to a different conclusion, through Socratic questioning (why aren’t more people doing this?) – not by way of the loud, bitter noise, however true and valid it may be, that everyone’s learned to tune out over the last four years.”

  4. I really enjoy your little slice of life commentaries in other countries that I most likely will never see. Your website is truly like traveling there myself without the cost of course :). But…….

    And here’s the but; why oh why did you have to bring politics into this little getaway of mine. Didn’t your parents ever tell you to leave politics and religion alone at the dinner table? Now your site has become jaded for me forever, and thats truly ashame.

    There are many of us suburbanites out there who are quite happy with 3 kids, ONE wife (NOT same sex) 2 cars and 4 bedrooms. Please Oh Please remove the political cap from your head so that I may once again enjoy your website.

    Sincerely, Mr. Suburbanite Midwest USA

    P.S. Glad you’re not a Vegan anymore! We likes our red meat and corn here!

  5. Politics into your life? Ha!

    I was happy in my own little bubble, ignoring the almost-deafening din of bickering here in DC, before the fool next door (and now I work, literally, next door to the white house) started trashing the place.

    Now I can’t travel to Mexico, much less Mongolia, without people constantly blaming me for what that monkey-eared nut is doing.

    You want this site politics-free again, then elect someone who understands Bin Laden is not in Iraq, but WMD’s (nukes to boot) are in Iran and North Korea.

  6. A nice page you got here – don’t agree with you about the president but what the heck!

    http://runners4bush2004.rantweb.com

    http://www.RunForBush.com

    We’re running because he has integrity.
    We’re running because he has character.
    We’re running because he is a leader.
    And because of these things and many more,
    We’re RUNNING FOR BUSH “From Start…To Finish”!

  7. You’re not alone. Thousands joined you on “National Run Against Bush Day” last weekend, check out the great pix at: http://www.runagainstbush.org/nrabd/

    I’ve been running for about 5 months, and the support (and number of runners) grows larger every time!