Bush Derangement Syndrome

Do you remember the irrational hatred people had of Bush in his lame duck years?

When Obama was elected, I swore that I would never hate him. Life is too short for hatred.

The only president that I ever actually hated was a gentleman named "Ronald Reagan."

I was in school at the time. I hated Reagan because my teachers pulled a trick in which they framed every action of the president with nefarious motives.

It wasn't until several years after Reagan's presidency that I confronted the deep irrational hatred I had for Reagan. It is funny. I hated Reagan because I saw him as a person who was expanding government, when he was probably trying to slow the rate of government increase.

I am proud that I have never felt hatred toward the president.

I do find it amusing that Obama has been guilty of almost every transgression that the victims of the Bush Derangement Syndrome cited for their hatred. The Obama's presidency has been as much an imperial presidency as Bush. We are still entangled in wars. Government is still overbearing and oppressive.

The state of discourse in this nation is even worse now than in the Bush years. The partisanship in Congress is at a fever pitch with even fewer bipartisan efforts to solve problems.

I am extremely angry with policies ... notably PPACA, and will work my fingers to the bones in an effort to repeal it. I dislike PPACA not because of its association with Obama, but because I am certain that there is a better way. (Medical Savings and Loan)

Sadly, I worry that many patriots may have caught a case of Obama Derangement Syndrome. This is a syndrome in which a person hates a policy because of its association with Obama and not because the policy itself is backwards.

I admonish patriots about the Obama-Derangement-Syndrome because the syndrome has people making decisions based on associations and not on the merit of the policy.

Many people hate ObamaCare, but do know what is in ObamaCare. The primary feature of ObamaCare is the Health Exchange administered at the state level.

Here is "ultra-conservative" Utah, the legislature passed Health Exchanges. Simply by removing the negative association, they passed ObamaCare without debate.

Avoiding hatred is not only good for the soul. Avoiding hatred keeps one from making bad mistakes justified by hatred.