I feel like I should clarify my thoughts on ideology, especially as it pertains to the Bush administration.

When I discuss Bush's ideologically-driven foreign and domestic policies it might lead one to believe that I think there is something wrong with an individual being driven by their ideology. Aside from the fact that it would be hypocritical (as I clearly have an ideology which I am exploring on this site), I'm just not sure it's possible to be a thinking human being and not develop an ideology of some sort, and it would be expected that a politician's platform and actions would be heavily influenced by their ideology. But when making decisions that affect all of us, I believe there is a huge difference between bringing your ideologies to the policy debate and stifling the policy debate in the name of your ideology. The former is what is expected of an American politician, and the latter is unfortunately how the Bush administration has conducted itself. It is this phenomenon which I am referring to.

In a speech which I attended recently, Al Gore highlighted this sentiment:

Robust debate in a democracy will almost always involve occasional rhetorical excesses and leaps of faith... but there is a big difference between that and a systematic effort to manipulate facts in service to a totalistic ideology that is felt to be more important than the mandates of basic honesty.

Unfortunately, I think it is no longer possible to avoid the conclusion that what the country is dealing with in the Bush Presidency is the latter. That is really the nub of the problem -- the common source for most of the false impressions that have been frustrating the normal and healthy workings of our democracy.

Americans have always believed that we the people have a right to know the truth and that the truth will set us free. The very idea of self-government depends upon honest and open debate as the preferred method for pursuing the truth -- and a shared respect for the Rule of Reason as the best way to establish the truth.

The Bush Administration routinely shows disrespect for that whole basic process, and I think it's partly because they feel as if they already know the truth and aren't very curious to learn about any facts that might contradict it. They and the members of groups that belong to their ideological coalition are true believers in each other's agendas.

Whether you subscribe to the Bush administration's ideology or not, clearly this style of leadership is not healthy for our society, and its negative effects are finally beginning to become noticeable.