Is George W. Bush redeemable?

[Cyrano]

Over my life, I've heard time and again that no one is beyond redemption. As a devout agnostic, I have no religious grounds for finding a way to forgive him for the destruction he's visited on human beings, every other life form on this planet, and the planet itself.

And let me add that I'm not asking a "religious" question. It's one that has to do with human morality and our opinions of the human species. I'd like to hear your opinions on this question.

[electropop]

1. Yes, in states that recycle, you can get 5 cents for him.

[flobee1]

7. lol^^^

He has to want to change his ways in order to be redeemed


In other words, no

[Kikosexy2]

2. No ...

but my plastic 2 liter of Coke is....

[Atman]

3. George Bush, three Green Stamps and a 2 ltr. Coke bottle...

...are redeemable for a Snickers bar, last I checked.

[gatorboy]

4. Hope so!

Maybe I can take him back to the store and redeem him for a better President

[Atman]

6. Hehehehe...looks like we were all on the same track!

Straight to the redemption center!

[gatorboy]

14. Oh well, I tried. They refused to take him.

Apparently he's far too damaged to be replaced.

[ThomWV]

5. Fuck Him, who cares?

[electropop]

8. But seriously, I understand the question.

In my personal life, I have made a decision to give somebody a chance for redemption. There was a long and dark history, but an apparently genuine understanding and remorse, a real surprise to me. This person had given me a second chance previously, so it seemed right to return the favor.

Having said that, I don't think Bush has the capacity to care about his crimes, so redemption is highly unlikely.

The above opinion is from an atheist who nonetheless absorbed some things from a Christian upbringing.

[flyarm]

9. answer to question.. A RESOUNDING NO!..N.T

[shain from kane]

10. Lost cause. He made a deal with the Devil. n/t

[Kikosexy2]

13. Even Satan...

couldn't redeem him...not worth the 5 cents....

[AndyA]

11. I don't believe Bush is redeemable.

What could he possibly do in the years he has left to redeem himself? When you consider the families of dead soldiers alone, it would be an impossible task to somehow make correction for the death of a loved one.

And what about the people he hurt in the business world, back in the days before he became a politician? There are a LOT of screwed business acquaintances around. How about the people displaced from their homes in Texas, when he wanted to build the stadium in Arlington? Many were forced out of paid for homes, bought at a budget price, and are now living at a standard below that of what they once had.

Even if Bush gave up his wealth to those he harmed, even if he worked tirelessly until his very last breath to somehow repay those his dirty deeds have harmed over the years, could it ever possibly be enough? What is the price of a life these days? How much would it cost to buy forgiveness from one who only knows sorrow?

No doubt some will forgive him for his efforts, but the vast majority will never be satisfied. And, I believe redemption has to come from within - one has to possess a true desire to redeem themselves. That characteristic is sorely lacking in George Bush.

[Raffi Ella]

22. well said.I agree.

That S.O.B. just doesn't get it and never will.

[SutaUvaca]

12. I would say not.

Not at least in your parameter of human morality/human species.
In the cosmic scheme of things, surely that entity will make as good a collection of gaseous molecules
recycling into a nebula somewhere, sometime. Perhaps such entity might even evolve some billions of years
later and become a glob of oil which is subsequently fought over on some distant, round, populated object.

[Protagoras]

15. No.

It would be nice to think we live in a world where 3 visits from ghosts will melt the heart of Scrooge but it just isn't so. Fact is there are people who are so soulless, so devoid of empathy, so sociopathic, or what have you that they simply will not change.

Are there things he could THEORETICALLY do to redeem himself? Sure. But in Theory a alien spaceship could pick me up tomorrow and take me to some wonderful heavenlike comet...but I'm not going to bet on it.

The idea that the vast majority of power and money corrupt people will ever be redeemed is an absurdity. It hasn't proven to be a meaningful chance at any point in history and the money and corruption have never been as overwhelming.

Beyond Bush as an individual, I also don't think there are any significant social forces currently that have a reasonable chance of forcing the kind of awakening/change of heart/whatever that would turn the corner for even a sizeable minority of the Neocons. I'm not talking about already middle or the roaders, or even the cheap opportunists. I'm talking about the 30+ year long Goldwater worshiping global domination seeking bastards like Cheney and Rumsfeld who have watched millions die for decades and only gotten more greedy and egocentric with the passage of time. Their metal has been tested numerous times already and I believe it is crystal clear what they are at their core.

Same can be said for Stalin and Hitler and numerous other 100% absolute bastards throughout history...and none of that is changed by them kissing a few babies or petting a kitten.

[Matariki]

16. Have you ever seen Last Emperor?

perhaps he can finish out his life as a humble gardner, and that will do him some good?

[Bonhomme Richard]

17. He has no soul. n/t

[neoblues]

18. His redemption is irrelevant, because...

The harm he's caused is already done...

Still, sure, it's "possible" he might one day "see the error of his ways", alas, it's just as possible (and probably more likely) that he could be struck by lightening while in an intimate position with Condi while she applies her leather riding crop in the back of Marine One; I, for one, know which would be more entertaining and more deserved.

[opihimoimoi]

19. The man is deluded beyond repair...The GOP is to blame

[Raydawg1234]

20. no

[Double T]

21. No redemption; HIS affliction has no cure and HE will never change....

his evil ways, therefore NO redemption.

[marmar]

23. I think you need to be contrite for redemption...

I don't think he has that within him.

[Jed Dilligan]

24. If he spends the rest of his life on his knees,

crawling from town to town and soothing the sore parts of rectal cancer patients with his tongue, he might have a 50/50 chance with his Creator...

[TahitiNut]

25. Narcissistic Personality Disorder so severe is effectively untreatable.

He's beyond the bend - a pathological narcissist - the DSM-IV poster boy for that particular Axis II disorder. There is NO positive prognosis for treating him - none. He should be imprisoned, after conviction for war crimes, along with others, and kept in solitary confinement in a padded cell. He'd "melt down" within 6-12 months, and probably have a nearly total disconnect.

[JitterbugPerfume]

26. In theory

No one is beyond repemption



but as the fundys say---it is only a theory:evilgrin:

[azurnoir]

27. No deposit, No return n/t

[Nightjock]

28. Not just "No'" but

NO FUCKING WAY!!!!!!!!!!!

I really 100% believe he's a fucking puppet for evil people. But he's not an innocent "Pinnochio" puppet, he's fucking "Chucky" the killer doll from those terrible movies!

[Salviati]

29. yes... but

not as a person of power and influance, as he has lost all credability and is utterly beyond redemption there. The best he could do it to redeem himself as a human being, and that would take an old-school saint like effort. We're talking about renouncing all of his worldly wealth and spending the remainder of his life in personal service to the poor kind of effort here...

[Ron Green]

33. Bingo. I think you've said it.

He would have to renounce everything that's made him so destructive in order to find his basic humility.

[leftofthedial]

30. might be useful as fertilizer

maybe, if not too poisoned

[pscot]

31. I hope not

I plan to meet him in hell.

[elocs]

32. Yes, he could have redeemed himself, but the window has pretty much closed

on that opportunity. I believe it would have been a possibility a couple of years ago, but he would truly have to have had a change of heart and direction and he surely does not. There is really no chance for redemption after his presidency because only as the leader of the free world does he have the power to make amends for his actions. He cannot undo what is done, but he could have made atonement. But redemption appears to be beyond any president. Had Nixon come clean early on and admitted to the American public and honestly asked for their forgiveness, he most likely would have gotten it. If Clinton had come right out and admitted that he did have oral sex with Monica, and that although it was between consenting adults that it was disrespectful (to his wife and daughter) and in bad judgment to have done it in the White House with somebody who was his subordinate (which would probably be most everybody but Hillary). Had he done this he would probably redeemed himself in the eyes of many Americans and at the least would have made the entire incident a non issue and would have avoided impeachment and Gore would have blown away Bush.

If this is looked at from a religious point of view I would think of Pharaoh and the plagues. As the plagues started, one by one, it was written that Pharaoh hardened his heart until it reached the point where God hardened Pharaoh's heart. Or you could simply look at it that Pharaoh hardened his heart until he was past the point of redemption. Bush is in the same condition and as with Pharaoh, the people of the nation suffered because of the actions of the leader.