Learning Stories
by
Mario deSantis
mariodesantis@hotmail.com
“I am a Canadian, free to speak without fear, free to worship in my own way, free to stand for what I think right, free to oppose what I believe wrong, and free to choose those who shall govern my country.” - -The Rt. Hon. John Diefenbaker, Canadian Bill of Rights, 1960
“The whole judicial system is at issue, it's worth more than one person.”--Serge Kujawa, Saskatchewan Crown Prosecutor, 1991
“The system is not more worth than one person's rights.”--Mario deSantis, 2002
Ensign Stories © Mario deSantis and Ensign
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Most of our problems are ones of communication, and today I learn that Dr. Lynne Cheney, the wife of Vice-President Dick Cheney, has written a book for children in order to defend American Civilization and American Patriotism. The word civilization reminds me of our responsibilities to behave civilly to one another, while the word patriotism reminds me of our misbehavior to wage wars and produce heroes. We live in paradoxical times and the mixing together of the concepts of civilization and patriotism contributes to the further alienation of our social comprehension.
Again, we live in paradoxical times and if you readers want to have an understanding of the patriotism shown by Vice-President Dick Cheney and Commander in Chief President George Bush Jr. it is enough to say that they both avoided their tour to Viet Nam; Dick Cheney by claiming four student deferments plus the final deferment as an expectant father, and George Bush by joining the National Guard and disappearing from history between the years 1972-73. But this is not all. Today I watched the movie while President Bush was at Emma Booker School in Florida as the September 11 attacks were occurring and I was flabbergasted by the behaviour of the Commander in Chief as he practically ignored what was happening beyond the walls of the school.
References C is for clampdown. How to stop student liberalism in the US: get to them when they're five John Sutherland, June 10, 2002, The Guardian http://www.guardian.co.uk/Print/0,3858,4430358,00.html Dick Cheney comes from well within the old Bush inner circle. Is that all we need to know? By RICHARD LACAYO, August 1, 2000 http://www.cnn.com/ALLPOLITICS/time/2000/07/31/insider.html The Republican Convention. Ex-Clinton official slams Bush and Cheney war records. Former Secretary of Veterans Affairs Jesse Brown asks why "neither one went to Vietnam, when they were clearly of Vietnam age." By Jake Tapper, Aug. 2, 2000 http://www.salon.com/politics/feature/2000/08/01/draft/ WHAT HAPPENED AT EMMA E. BOOKER SCHOOL ON THE MORNING OF SEPTEMBER 11TH? - A BUZZFLASH NEWS ANALYSIS http://www.buzzflash.com/analysis/2002/06/11_Booker.html http://www.sarasota.k12.fl.us/emma/9.11.01/movies/scsb.bush.mov |
Cheney's
book is titled America: A Patriotic Primer and at
this time of a never ending war against terrorism it will be a
resource to teach the alphabet and inculcate American patriotism in
the minds of our children. Cheney begins her book with the letter
A which stands for America, then she goes on and on
to say that F is for Freedom, P
for Patriotism, R for the Right to Bear Arms, and
V for valor as shown by the American soldiers in
Viet Nam. 