Bill Clinton took office 20 years ago. I was 9 at the time. He was president until I was in high school. I never actually paid attention to what he did as president. All I knew was what my dad told me, what I heard on the news, and what I heard from friends at school. My dad said that before he took office, he didn't like the guy, but after he'd been in for a few years, he absolutely hated him.
I remember that he had sex with a woman he wasn't married to, that he lied about it, and that he was impeached. I believe he was impeached for lying, but I could be wrong. At any rate, when this was all happening, I thought he was a very bad man. I agreed with all of the people around me who said that he should be impeached (and also subsequently removed from office, which obviously never happened).
But now that I'm older and understand politics and how the world works a bit better, I've looked into the man a bit more. I was surprised to find out this long list of his accomplishments while in office. I was surprised when I first found out that during his administration, the budget deficit was actually turned into a surplus. He was a very responsible spender. He improved education, decreased welfare dependence and unemployment. He did so many great things.
What really amazes me, though, is that he's still doing good things. His foundation fights for so many good causes. He's raising awareness about issues such as climate change. He's pushing for research into clean and renewable energy. He's helping to solve problems of poverty and health issues, not just here in America but globally. His foundation has a 10% overhead. While that's not the absolute best I've seen, it's a pretty good overhead. 90% of the money donated to the foundation goes toward the actual causes.
Now that I know more about him, I really don't understand why people hate(d) him so much. The only explanation I can think of is propaganda. Conservatives dislike him so much, because he's a liberal, that they paint him in a very negative light--even when he's doing something that's usually one of their talking points (like decreasing the deficit).
And, honestly, I think it's none of the public's business what he does with his own body. If he has sex with someone, that's between him and her and Hillary. It's their business, not ours. And I know that conservatives will disagree with me, but I don't think that having sex makes someone bad. I don't think that adultery is the horrible crime that Christians make it out to be. Yes, he did it behind his wife's back. And he lied about it when confronted. But the act itself I believe is mostly harmless. But, all of that aside, I think that we need to be able to look past these things in people--even if we do choose to believe that adultery is sinful--and have a fuller view of them. He really does do a lot of good in the world, and he did a lot of good while he was president.
I remember that he had sex with a woman he wasn't married to, that he lied about it, and that he was impeached. I believe he was impeached for lying, but I could be wrong. At any rate, when this was all happening, I thought he was a very bad man. I agreed with all of the people around me who said that he should be impeached (and also subsequently removed from office, which obviously never happened).
But now that I'm older and understand politics and how the world works a bit better, I've looked into the man a bit more. I was surprised to find out this long list of his accomplishments while in office. I was surprised when I first found out that during his administration, the budget deficit was actually turned into a surplus. He was a very responsible spender. He improved education, decreased welfare dependence and unemployment. He did so many great things.
What really amazes me, though, is that he's still doing good things. His foundation fights for so many good causes. He's raising awareness about issues such as climate change. He's pushing for research into clean and renewable energy. He's helping to solve problems of poverty and health issues, not just here in America but globally. His foundation has a 10% overhead. While that's not the absolute best I've seen, it's a pretty good overhead. 90% of the money donated to the foundation goes toward the actual causes.
Now that I know more about him, I really don't understand why people hate(d) him so much. The only explanation I can think of is propaganda. Conservatives dislike him so much, because he's a liberal, that they paint him in a very negative light--even when he's doing something that's usually one of their talking points (like decreasing the deficit).
And, honestly, I think it's none of the public's business what he does with his own body. If he has sex with someone, that's between him and her and Hillary. It's their business, not ours. And I know that conservatives will disagree with me, but I don't think that having sex makes someone bad. I don't think that adultery is the horrible crime that Christians make it out to be. Yes, he did it behind his wife's back. And he lied about it when confronted. But the act itself I believe is mostly harmless. But, all of that aside, I think that we need to be able to look past these things in people--even if we do choose to believe that adultery is sinful--and have a fuller view of them. He really does do a lot of good in the world, and he did a lot of good while he was president.
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