President off to a good start, but what's with all the winking?
I wanted to report to my conservative readers that my opinion of George W. Bush has certainly been elevated during these first days of his presidency. First off, the man proposed some sweeping educational changes, and though I am not a voucher champion, I certainly want what is best for children. George W. conducted himself well during the first days, his wife, Laura, has not lost her small-town smile, and the government is clanking along like a well-maintained jalopy. The thing that bothers me about Mr. President is his nervous habit of winking as he gives a speech. The poor man almost appears to have a tick that attacks his left eye as he's giving a speech. An observer can notice it's not a tick because his mouth moves in harmony with the eye. So, it looks like the man has been doing this most of his life -- it has become second nature to him. So in midsentence he will focus on someone in the audience and he will pump up his grin and then the left eye flutters slightly. This is meant as an addition to the speech. It means, "I'm pretty serious, but I can also have a good time.'' Or it might mean, "'This speech is grim stuff, but once it's over, watch out! 'Cause we're going to have a fun time.'' I could be wrong about the hidden messages in this winking business. That's not really my point anyway. I simply want to warn the most powerful man in the world that winking is a dangerous habit. Why? Because we don't know exactly what a wink means. If the president winks at you, that could mean he is attracted to you physically or he's just kidding around about all this foreign-policy stuff, that he doesn't really intend to bomb the bad guys into oblivion. You can see it leaves too much to the imagination. Further, a wink (I do feel foolish writing about winking, but I feel a religious obligation) does not leave us with a clear message about our response. If the president winks at you, should you seek him out at the next opportunity and respond in kind? This could damage another administration. Do you think Abraham Lincoln employed winking? With all the rumors surrounding George Washington, do you think he did his share of winking? The same might be true about Franklin D. Roosevelt, Lyndon Johnson and a host of others. But thank God there have been some presidents that stuffed the winks and played it straight with the American people. The Bible also does not like winking. I know that George W. is a United Methodist and a darn good one, I'm told. But if he looked deeply into the doctrine of his religion, he would find numerous warnings about people who wink. For instance, look at Proverbs 6:13 where it says, ``A scoundrel and a villain goes around with crooked speech, winking the eyes, shuffling the feet, (and) pointing the fingers.'' Of course, we all know that our president is not a nasty fellow, and this verse simply gives us the proper warnings. In Proverbs 10:10, it says, ``Whoever winks the eye, causes trouble. Of course, our beloved president has not been in office long enough to cause trouble, but there you have a warning. I'm guessing that President Bush will cause some trouble before his term is up. The question is: Can we blame that trouble on to his habit of winking? I repeat, I am not accusing the president of the United States of anything -- these are simply friendly warnings. I wonder what I would do if a friendly woman winked at me? Would I think she was communicating a serious message or would I look upon it as an invitation to potential trouble? You see, that is the problem with winking; it leaves us discombobulated. A serious president does not want to confuse his followers and certainly the man would not want to alarm his detractors. I am, however, neither a Bush follower nor a detractor. I have committed myself to helping this president continue in holiness. And there is no better place to start than with his winking. Clark D. Morphew Posted 2-3-01