Resume of George W. Bush: Fact or Fiction

I received an e-mail this morning with an attachment titled Resume of George W. Bush (the resume was too long to copy to my post, but, I easily found the exact same resume on the internet). I question the validity of all e-mails that discuss political candidate's backgrounds (personal & professional). I decided to send a quick e-mail to The Black Informant, a blogger whose blog I enjoy and visit quite frequently. I was so moved by his response that I just had to share it. This brother is deeeeeep.

My e-mail to him:
I know that you, as well as others, receive e-mails regarding the backgrounds of politicians (especially around election time). I received the following this morning regarding President Bush. I will be honest and say that I have no idea of how true any of the statements are. I also wonder where the person who initiates these types of e-mails get their information. I am certain that alot of people will automatically believe what is written without investigating. I wanted to know your opinion of these statements.

His response:
Very little of this is actually true. The statements are somewhat like this: Let's say if there was an e-mail like that about you:
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When you were in high school, you applied for and got your license (assuming this is true for most people) However, a few years later, you got a speeding ticket (let's assume this is
true for this example)
[another example statement about your life] in 19__, you graduated from (school name)
However, when you were in 8th grade, you were suspended for fighting with another student
[one more example statement about your life] You became a mom at the age of (whatever)
however, 2 years ago, a neighbor reported you to the police because she overheard you children screaming what she thought was "mommy don't hit me with the bat!" (your child was actually saying "mommy (we) don't want to take a nap)
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I know I gave you a lot of examples, but it was to make a point. George Bush, John Kerry, or whoever all have done things that they should not be proud of. In a perfect world, all politicians would be perfect, but you know as well as I that that is not the case. I thought about going through each statement below to comment on them. But after thinking about it some more, I realized that it would do you more good than me or anyone else doing it for you. Politicians, government officials, community and church leaders (we can talk about that last one another time), are to some degree depending on the fact that most people (in particularly
African-Americans) will not take the time to research the information that is out there for themselves. That is why there is so much emphasis placed on tv and radio ads. The bottom line is this, first, you must realize that the original purpose of government was to do just that, govern (To make and administer the public policy and affairs of; exercise sovereign authority in.) In short, that means that the role of government is to maintain the preset order established in the constitution) of this nation and ensure that everybody has the personal right to do so. After the Great Depression, President Roosevelt implemented what is called "The New Deal". In short, The New Deal was a nationwide program that was designed to put the nation back to work. This was the birth of government programs as we know it. Prior to The New Deal, people pretty much made whatever they wanted to make of there lives WITHOUT GOVERNMENT INTERVENTION. If you just do a quick study of US history, you will noticed that there were more "geniuses" (like Einstein) being raised up than what you see today. These bright children were raised in an environment with very little government intervention. Today we see government intervention as a right that all people must have in order to
make it. After realizing the true role of government, the next thing you need to do is to not ask the question "what will Kerry or Bush do for me?" Instead, you need to look at the things that are important to you and ask yourself "given the proven track record of both candidates, which one best complement what I am already doing with my own life as an American citizen?" What I mean is this: If you live in Texas, then one of your concerns should be border
security. Look at each candidate and see what is their PROVEN track record on the border patrol issue. A wrong thing to ask is this "which candidate will make it easier for me to get a job?" (We have a whole history of people that were able to provide for themselves without having the government "hand-hold" them through the process of finding income. Yes, intervention is needed at times, but if we were truly "together" as we say we are as a people, those in our communities that have lost employment could be assisted by those who are employed). Sadly, many African-Americans have come to the conclusion that we as a people will never be equal with the rest of society unless government intervention is a permanent part of our lives. My tenancy is to go with proven track record more than anything else. Most of what you see on these political ads are going to have a certain level of spin to it. Check out sites like opensecrets.com. This site will tell you who is financing what candidate. For example, one of the candidates is promising that he will bring jobs back to America that were created here. However, if you look at his own personal portfolio, he personally invest in
companies that practice this on a daily basis. Also check out www.vote-smart.org. This site will show you the voting history of the candidates. I know I gave you a lot, but I guess I really enjoy helping people. Have a great day!