“If you want to understand America, I hope you were in Washington on Thursday. I hope you heard the high ideals of President Bush’s inaugural address, and also saw the stretch Hummer limos heading to the balls in the evening…”

Starts out pretty pretentious and awful, doesn’t… Keep reading (from the New York Times this week):

“I hope you heard the president talk about freedom as the ‘permanent hope of mankind, the hunger in dark places, the longing of the soul,’ and also saw the drunken, loud and privileged twentysomethings carrying each other piggyback down K Street after midnight.”

Wow!!! I’m really impressed by Brook’s insight:

“What you saw in Washington that day is what you see in America so often — this weird intermingling of high ideals with gross materialism…”

Of course, the rest of the editorial was a little skewed towards the conservative side of things — but I am really impressed with this summary of the way things are, and the way that things will be in the future.

Unfortunately, I think I probably know many of the folks that Brooks is talking about… I went to Middlebury College in Vermont, one of the elite schools in the country where rich folks send their kids to hobnob with other kids of rich folks. At that time, there were more Saabs than Fords, if you get what I mean. (I did, however, get a wonderful education, and find my niche among peaceniks, environmentalists, and musicians)

This is a culture that values partying. Even from our ‘ultra-religious’ president, we have learned the value of partying and drinking. Yes, he has rescinded his alcoholism, and found Christ, but who is he as a person? Have you all seen the video of George Bush after winning some election, looking at the camera, giving it the finger, laughing, and then saying that that is his, “one-fingered victory salute”? Click here to go to a site where you can watch the clip (http://www.milkandcookies.com):

And it is disgusting that George Bush, our president, once drove through the back of his garage, according to his mother’s memoir, because his wife, Laura Bush, told him things that she might have said differently in some address of his.

George Bush is attractive to the men of my generation, because he is a partier that has redeemed himself in the public eye. It is okay to wear cowboy boots, carouse and raise hell, because you can just repent someday and become president.