Posted on 04/24/2006 6:24:56 AM PDT by veronica
There are two distinct marks of a dissident. First, dissidents are fired by ideas and stay true to them no matter the consequences. Second, they generally believe that betraying those ideas would constitute the greatest of moral failures. Give up, they say to themselves, and evil will triumph. Stand firm, and they can give hope to others and help change the world.
Political leaders make the rarest of dissidents. In a democracy, a leader's lifeline is the electorate's pulse. Failure to be in tune with public sentiment can cripple any administration and undermine any political agenda. Moreover, democratic leaders, for whom compromise is critical to effective governance, hardly ever see any issue in Manichaean terms. In their world, nearly everything is colored in shades of gray.
That is why President George W. Bush is such an exception. He is a man fired by a deep belief in the universal appeal of freedom, its transformative power, and its critical connection to international peace and stability. Even the fiercest critics of these ideas would surely admit that Mr. Bush has championed them both before and after his re-election, both when he was riding high in the polls and now that his popularity has plummeted, when criticism has come from longstanding opponents and from erstwhile supporters.
(Excerpt) Read more at opinionjournal.com ...
Sharansky gets it.
And so do I.
And like Blair, he doesn't care what anyone thinks about it. That's not the attitude of a politician....it takes a natural leader to have that quality.
That can be good and in some cases bad.
It really depends if the issue you are dissident on and won't change is good or bad for the majority of people.
Seriously, so refreshing to read a piece by someone with his priorities straight.
"...George W. Bush has the courage to speak out for freedom..." ==
Speaking he is. But sometimes he not does. http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1620381/posts
ping
Great article!
It amazes me that Bush (and Blair) is alone in the world pushing for democracy. When did this great nation called the USA get to the point that freedom for others means nothing?
In an apparent conundrum, the President's sagging popularity is preventing him from doing anything else. Clinton refused to do anything significant if it would hurt his popularity. President Bush's willingness to do unpopular things in his first term may prevent him from getting anything major done in his second. It's a shame.
Ping, to an article that is a great complement, (and compliment) to the Telegraph articles by Con Coughlin that you posted on the Dose yesterday.
bttt
You're absolutely correct . . . I'll make sure this article gets posted at the DOSE tonight!
"I'll make sure this article gets posted at the DOSE tonight!"
Please ping me with that link when you do....actually would like to read the prior articles....thanks in advance.
A big amen bump to that. Great read. Thanks for posting it.
Thought you'd see this one. ; ).
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