I'm Gonna Wash That Man Right Outta my Hair...

If you've been reading this blog since November you will remember that early on I noted that liberals (Democrats in particular) were behaving as abuse victims. Months later Michael Moore quoted nearly the same source, making the same observation. Today Alternet has brought us this, A Progressive 12-step Program:

"We find ourselves stuck in an abusive relationship with George Bush and his cronies. This abuse is clearly evident in Iraq with its horrendous images of prisoner torture and daily TV feeds of civilian casualties. It is also shown in the administration's disdain for the American needy, as well as in its gleeful willingness to pillage our natural resources. Like all chronic abusers, Bush and company are obsessed with power, willing to do anything to retain it, even if this means running roughshod over human rights.

As progressives struggle to regain their footing and mount an effective defense of democracy, we must recognize that Americans are trapped in this abusive relationship. To escape it we will need our own version of a 12-step program, beginning with the recognition that we feel powerless in the face of the Bush aggression, and that this has profoundly impacted our lives, made them to some extent, unmanageable."

...and,

A famous Buddhist prayer is known as the three gems: "I take refuge in the Buddha; I take refuge in the Dharma; I take refuge in the Sangha." Meaning: "I take refuge in the spirit of the Buddha, in his teachings, and in the Buddhist community." As we seek recovery from our abusive relationship with the Bush Administration, perhaps we can find strength in our own version of this wisdom, "I take refuge in democracy; in the spirit and teachings of the founders of our country, and the patriots that followed them. I take refuge in the community of those who struggled to preserved this democracy."