By Shea Blair,Edward Little High School

“Our country is in an immediate state of vulnerability. More hurricanes and other disasters are on the way, and a lazy bunch of self-satisfied lunatics are still running the show.” That was stated by Michel Moore on his website.

We are all witness to the bad mouthing of our president George W. Bush. It seems as though our country is split between what I call “Bush supporters,” and “Bush haters.”

September 11, 2001 was a day that will be remembered. The United States was attacked. The United States declared war. Does the terrorist attack justify declaring war on the nation of Iraq? Why did we declare war exactly? These are questions I ask myself. I’m not saying that the war is the right or wrong answer. However I strongly believe that everyone in the United States of America should know exactly why we are in this war. I shouldn’t be confused about the subject. I have asked many people and I have never gotten a straight answer from any of them.

In the after math of 9/11 many turned against Bush. Also, many became hard-core supporters. I think it’s safe to say a lot of this difference of opinion can be linked to location. In the 2004 presidential election Bush won mostly all of the southern and Midwestern states, with the exception of four. Looking back on the 2000 election map you’ll notice a similarity. In both elections Bush won pretty much all the same states with a few exceptions, and in both elections the northeast and west coast were won by Democratic candidates. It’s interesting to me how both elections were split between the north and south. It brings me back to the Civil War.

I have heard somewhere that most Christians prefer Bush in office because of his religion. Many American Christians support Bush, that is true. My dad, for example, is a Christian and also republican. He supports the president. My dad believes that Bush has good morals, and has a good belief system. My dad is what I would call a Bush supporter. I think many people feel more comfortable when they know a president shares their beliefs. My mother for the most part doesn’t get into politics. However, she does not support Bush. She doesn’t agree with our president’s actions. Like my father, she also considers herself a Christian.

Religion and location are both relevant to the political split of our nation. Is race becoming a factor too? Kanye West (an African American man) has openly expressed his views of what is happening in New Orleans. “I hate the way they portray us in the media. You see a black family, it says, ‘They’re looting.’ You see a white family, it says, ‘They’re looking for food.’ West said this on national TV. I have seen many African American citizens who were victims of the hurricane share their views about the subject. A lot of them feel the same way as Kanye West does. It brings me to another question I ask myself, “Why did it take so long for the federal government to help?”

The fact that I have so many unanswered questions troubles me. The fact that our nation is split, and race is becoming a factor in that split makes me very uneasy. Is the president the real problem here? It makes me wonder what our country will come to in years to come. What is going on in our nation?

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