The President's Strange Heroes

Toogood Reports ^ | January 27, 2002 | Chuck Baldwin

[Starmaker]

President George W. Bush has a propensity to lavish praise upon those who are the least deserving of it. This is very unfortunate, because it sends the message that people who break the rules and behave badly will still be honored. Furthermore, it tells people who try diligently to keep the rules and live honorably that there is no reward for doing so.

Just recently, Bush heaped acclaim and accolades upon Martin Luther King, Jr. Bush said King "brought much good into the world." He further said, "America is a better place because he (King) was here, and we will honor his name forever." Bush then announced that the Department of Education would establish the "Martin Luther King Jr. Scholars Program to promising students all across America." However, is King deserving of the accolades heaped upon him? The answer is "no."

King admitted to numerous adulterous affairs. Like Bill Clinton, King was a prolific philanderer. He spent the night before his murder with two women, and then fought with a third, knocking her across the bed. Obviously, the "non-violent" preacher did not practice what he preached!

Furthermore, a reluctant media was forced to acknowledge that King had plagiarized his Ph.D. thesis at Boston University. Can you imagine how the press (or even President Bush) would handle that story if the guilty party were anyone else?

As a minister of the Gospel, King was an apostate. Although raised in a fundamentalist home, he rejected the training of his youth and came to renounce the fundamental tenets of the Christian faith. He rejected Christ's deity, His virgin birth, and His physical resurrection. He also rejected the authority and inspiration of the Holy Bible.

It is also true that the F.B.I. has a dossier on King that is a mile long. King's coziness with communists and Marxists is undeniable. Martin Luther King, Jr. brought havoc and unrest to America as few men have ever done. One look at the plight of black families today reveals that his legacy is one of destruction not healing. Bush's praise of King is hollow and hypocritical. If Bush really wants to emulate King's legacy, heaven help us!

Another strange hero of the president is Senator Ted Kennedy. Bush recently said to Kennedy, "Mr. Senator, not only are you a good senator, you're a good man." Bush also said, "I've come to admire him (Kennedy)." These statements are so appalling it turns the stomach!

To call Kennedy "a good man" borders on blasphemy! Does anyone remember the name Mary Jo Kopechne? She was the young campaign worker who Kennedy, after a night of drunken revelry, left in the back seat of his Oldsmobile Eighty Eight to slowly drown as the car plunged to the bottom of an estuary near Chappaquiddick Island. Any other person would have been charged with some form of murder and put in prison. How can President Bush say he "admires" such a man? I doubt that the President would feel the same way if the girl at the bottom of that body of water had been one of his daughters.

Furthermore, Kennedy's record in the U.S. Senate reveals that he is one of the most liberal senators the country has ever had. His record on abortion, gay rights, gun control, big government spending, etc. reeks with liberalism and socialism. Again, how can Bush say that Kennedy is "all right"? How can he extend presidential praise upon such a man?

America has produced many genuine heroes; however, King and Kennedy are not among them, and the President is wrong to pretend that they are.

[MJY1288]

What would Chuck Baldwin like President Bush to say? Today we are honoring a whore hopper by the name of Martin Luther King who lived his life as a hypocrite" Lots of great things were accomplished by bad people, MLK wasn't elected by anyone, so who should he be held accountable to?

Just because a politician compliments someone, that doesn't make that person a hero.

MESSAGE TO CHUCK BALDWIN: It's politics stupid

[D. Miles]

Baldwin expects perfection, Bush was praising MLK's work for civil rights not his personal life. But with Baldwin's high threshold the only hero anyone would have would be God! I'm sure several of those rushing into the WTC to save people were not perfect, but would that make them any less a hero?

[Ratatoskr]

Martin Luther King, Jr. brought havoc and unrest to America as few men have ever done. One look at the plight of black families today reveals that his legacy is one of destruction not healing.

This is patently unfair. I'm no great fan of MLK the man, but there were very genuine injustices being done in his day and his leadership approach was the right one to solve them. What the Jacksons and Sharptons of the world have done since his death can't be laid at his door.

Can't disagree on Kennedy, however.

[Christian B]

Anyone sense a wink and a nod from Bush on these "compliments"? The way I see it, over 60% of the country is registered Democrat/stupid. Your going to have to pump them up a little.

[Movemout]

Heroes are humans with feet of clay ensconced in a filigree of gold. The myth of heroism is based in fact on specific incidents or words with a strong message. MLK, Kennedy (JFK), Lincoln, etc. established a resonance that was enhanced by their violent ends. Their lives that were cut short by their murders would not necessarily have been so widely admired had they not ended so violently. They were all socialists whose popularity owed much to their willingness to take from the rich and give to the poor.

[Movemout]

Heroes are humans with feet of clay ensconced in a filigree of gold. The myth of heroism is based in fact on specific incidents or words with a strong message. MLK, Kennedy (JFK), Lincoln, etc. established a resonance that was enhanced by their violent ends. Their lives that were cut short by their murders would not necessarily have been so widely admired had they not ended so violently. They were all socialists whose popularity owed much to their willingness to take from the rich and give to the poor.

[WhiteGuy]

Is it possible that in w's eyes, those worthy of his admiration are men who have/had great power over others?

In the end this (power) is the holy grail for the caliber of men mentioned here.

[Savage Beast]

President Bush is right to honor Martin Luther King. The Civil Rights Revolution was inevitable and the natural fulfillment of The American Dream and the promise of the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, and the Gettysburg Address. Because of Dr. King and many others like him, it was, to a great extent, peaceful and constructive. It could have been quite different.

Now, as the world faces another great cultural clash, we might hope for another leader of Dr. King's vision, goodness, and ability to help bring about a peaceful resolution. Contrast Dr. King with what the Islamic world has managed to produce so far.

[Hank Kerchief]

In the end this (power) is the holy grail for the caliber of men mentioned here.

Including Bush.

Hank

[Christian B]

Including Bush.

I do not understand, or like, Conservatives treating Bush like he's a power-hungry populist.

Elected Republicans must tread very lightly nowadays. Not only do they have the media against them, but they also have their own party that would just as soon have them cut off their nose to spite their face. When it comes down to it, you have to do business with Democrats. How do you think Reagan got so much done with Democrats controlling the House and Senate?

[Savage Beast]

You're absolutely right. Our greatest heroes are flawed. That's part of the beauty. They're human, just like the rest of us. I doubt that Todd Beamer was perfect. The greatest beauty of it is that the potential for heroism is in all of us. We're flawed (even I am not without imperfection, contrary to popular belief), but we can rise to heroism and greatness.

[Non-Sequitur]

Take away Martin Luther King completely from our history and take away Chuck Baldwin completely from our history and I wonder which would have a greater affect?

Another thing. King spent the night before his assasination at a church giving his 'Been to the Mountaintop' speech. Where did the hookers come in? Is this an urban legend or can someone actually point to evidence that supports that charge?

[Savage Beast]

Post 11: I agree with you. However, I think President Bush is honest and sincere and that his praise of Martin Luther King is well founded.

[Savage Beast]

Excellent points.

[skeeter]

I have no problem with King being made an American icon. I DO have a problem with the left shoving aside other American icons to make room for him. MLK is the only American figure with a holiday named after him as if he is the only person in US history worth honoring.

[Neets]

For all his "only human" personal flaws, MLKJR had done more to help race-relations in our country than the two poverty pimping pond scum suckers, phoney Revereneds's ALSharptongue and JesseJackareson. I have yet to hear the President lavish kudos on these two, as is understandable.

[OliverWendellDouglas]

King has more streets named after him than clinton does. Oh no...you don't think they're gonna start naming streets after him do you?

[gunnedah]

I think Baldwin is just trying to show how two faced this government is and the great hypocrisy of politicians.To get a vote and secure power our politicians will sell their souls and you the public buy it if it is expedient.This countrys news media and bodies of higher education have been taken over body and soul by liberals and we have a cancer in our midst.And until someone steps forward and tells it like it is it will not change.America has become its own God and will soon reap its rewards.We have a lot of conservatives who are as two faced as the liberals.The real answer is truth regardless of what party or persuasion you are.

[gunnedah]

What is wrong with perfection and the idea God is really the only truth?