"Why do people choose the substitute over God himself? Probably the most important reason is that it obviates accountability to God. We can meet idols on our own terms because they are our own creations. They are safe, predictable, and controllable; they are, in Jeremiah's colorful language, the 'scarecrows in a cornfield' (10:5). They are portable and completely under the user's control. They offer nothing like the threat of a God who thunders from Sinai and whose providence in this world so often appears to us to be incomprehensible and dangerous . . . [People] need face only themselves. That is the appeal of idolatry."
- David F. Wells
Monday, January 3, 2011
I got an Amazon Kindle for Christmas. After playing with it a for a few hours, I quickly realized that I'll probably have a Kindle, or something similar, for the rest of my life. I love it.
So far the only book I've paid for on my Kindle is George W. Bush's Decision Points. I read a decent amount of Bill Clinton's My Life back in the day, and it's interesting to juxtapose the two books in my mind. Clinton's was more of a minute by minute memoir of what seemed like every second of his entire life. (How he could recall all that detail from his childhood and early adult life is beyond me.) Bush's book is more to the point, with each chapter highlighting major decisions he made as president (and a few prior to his presidency).
I miss George W. Bush. Reading the chapter on 9/11 is like being smack-dab in the middle of his mind on one of the most important days in American history. I'm impressed with how good of a storyteller he is.
As you all may recall, Bush learned about the 9/11 attacks while reading to a roomful of second-graders in Florida. While walking up to the school, Karl Rove told Bush that an airplane had crashed into the World Trade Center. He thought it was strange, and wrote, "I envisioned a little propeller plane horribly lost." A few minutes later, while in front of the group of elementary children, he got the full picture.
I sensed a presence behind me. Andy Card [Bush's chief of staff] pressed his head next to mine and whispered in my ear.
"A second plane hit the second tower," he said, pronouncing each word deliberately in his Massachusetts accent. "America is under attack."
Wow! What a surreal moment that must have been. While probably not understanding the gravity of the situation, clicking photographers captured the historic moment that Bush turned into a wartime president:
Minutes later, after hearing about the third attack, the one on the Pentagon, Bush was livid.
My thoughts clarified: The first plane could have been an accident. The second was definitely an attack. The third was a declaration of war.
My blood was boiling. We were going to find out who did this, and kick their ass.
That's what I love about George W. Bush, and that's what I miss about him. He had an unwavering impulse to defend his America in the very face of evil, and while not being perfect, he did what he had to do.
Thank you, President Bush.
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Comments on "Wartime":
2. Raindream
- 01/03/2011 9:20 am CST
That's a chilling photo. The president had to be thinking of his need to keep completely cool in front of all those kids while unthinkable words are being spoken to him. Today, do those kids talk about how they remember it, where they were sitting, how the tone of the room started to change?
4. jen
- 01/03/2011 1:59 pm CST
I wish the folks who hated him would relook at the photos and video of those moments when Card was telling him about the 2nd and 3rd planes. Really look. That was not a man without a thought in his head in the face of crisis. That was a man with too many thoughts swirling about his head in the face of crisis - a leader's face, imho.
I really want to read this book. I need to download it to my own Christmas Kindle. Thanks for the reminder!
5. Bill
- 01/03/2011 8:15 pm CST
I "read" it on audiobook, read by W. himself.
It's a fantastic book!
I miss Bush.
6. Sherry
- 01/03/2011 10:05 pm CST
I miss George W. Bush, too. I look for similar leaders "coming up" and I just don't see them.
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Great book.