Bush's millennialism

Former President Bush's reputation as a Christian Fundamentalist is widely recognized. In at least one White House press briefing it has been asked what millennialist/ apocalyptic beliefs he had with the result being Scott McClellan immediately ending the press conference--"running off the stage." Admittedly some...many...Americans have no problem with this, but there are many more who find it very disturbing. Simply put, if the leader of the nation believes that the four horsemen of The Apocalypse could be trotting up the street at any time, then the leader is practically bound to make some ill-advised decisions. Reportedly, he is ...and did. And, Blair was on board with him.

For example, I think it was George Schultz, Secretary of State under Ronald Reagan, who when asked about policy on some environmental issue--like global warming--responded something like "The world is coming to an end anyway, so why should we bother?" In light of current events (global politicians at long last embracing scientists concerns about CO2 and its climatological effects) we can see how such Apocalyptic Millennialism could have, at the time, led the Reagan administration to fail in its environmental responsibilities. (There's a good bit more on Reagan ~page 239 of "Longing for the End" on Googlebooks.)

Belief that human existence faces some finite fate over which they have no control is one thing (a sufficiently silly thing on it's own), but actively trying to bring about The Apocalypse is a whole other! Using the military of a supposedly areligious/ secular nation as the means? Illegal and immoral. Believing that some god is telling you to do it? Delusional. Believing you have the right, obligation, or mandate to do it? Megalomaniacal. Believing for a second that some prehistoric Apocalyptic fantasy is a part of your personal reality or that of all of us? Fucking wacko. Voting for a millennialist to be POTUS? Well...

And, with all the hullabaloo currently being made over the end of the the Mayan calendar in 2012, the biblical "end of the age" as well as the Mayan prediction are astronomical predictions--not even necessarily astrological. So, turn off the Nostradamus special on the "History" Channel, and go get a fish sandwich.

Bonus psychobabble.