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Theunicornhunter

I'm such a cynic

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Do all these political figures really mourn the Pope's passing or do they just appreciate an opportunity to go before the camera and say the right things to the right people?

 

And I keep wondering - would all the news programs be cancelled for lack of news this week if the Pope hadn't died or would we still be hearing about the Schiavo debate? Yesterday, this one reporter was actually smiling while he reported the vigil - he could have tried to be a bit more reserved. :P

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I think they go before the cameras to pay respects to a Diplomat, The Vatican is the smallest country in the world and they did just loose their head of state

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I think they go before the cameras to pay respects to a Diplomat, The Vatican is the smallest country in the world and they did just loose their head of state

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I am aware of that - but I'm not really talking about the heads of other foreign states as much as a few US politicians I've heard on the news.

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The Pope was a great man.

But given the fact that he was the leader of a religon that has over a

Billion members. 60 to 70 million here in the us alone. And they are

politicians. Most Who have no scruples.When it comes to trying to get votes.

(ie. when election time comes wow he said such nice things when the pope passed away.) Think that could be the answer?

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In my opinion many of our US public officials are doing what they feel is appropriate for their careers at a time like this. They are not responding out of what they really feel. Pope John Paul II was very outspoken and critical of the both of the Bushs' Desert Storm and Persian Gulf war interventions. So as a Catholic when I heard President Bush make his statements regarding the Pope; there were some comments that he made that I did not for one minute believe he was truly sincere about...... I believe that Politicians do whatever they need to do to remain well thought of.

 

Do all these political figures really mourn the Pope's passing or do they just appreciate an opportunity to go before the camera and say the right things to the right people?

 

And I keep wondering - would all the news programs be cancelled for lack of news this week if the Pope hadn't died or would we still be hearing about the Schiavo debate?  Yesterday, this one reporter was actually smiling while he reported the vigil - he could have tried to be a bit more reserved. :P

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I think the President really does mourn the passing off the Pope. Bush has always been very religious. Other polticians, I dunno. It's like when Reagan died, they only talked about the good things. Or when anyone else died.

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Do all these political figures really mourn the Pope's passing or do they just appreciate an opportunity to go before the camera and say the right things to the right people?

 

And I keep wondering - would all the news programs be cancelled for lack of news this week if the Pope hadn't died or would we still be hearing about the Schiavo debate?  Yesterday, this one reporter was actually smiling while he reported the vigil - he could have tried to be a bit more reserved. :P

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I don't think they mourn in away you mourn the passing a friend or even a co-worker.

 

Politicians are the countries diplomats in these types of situations.

 

They must show proper respect to what the person represented for the sake of diplomacy.

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I don't know what these people are thinking. The media types are all about ratings.

 

AS a person I saddened by agreat mas passing. I admire him for the sacrifices he made to be where he was. So maybe some politicians are honestly moved, prossibly the finally see something which they couldn't even be a part of, even in a small way.

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I guess I am a cynic too. Politicians say things to get quoted or get their picture on tv. Some may be religious. However it personally bothered me to hear President Bush talking about the Pope as a man of peace, becuase I consider Bush to be the exact opposite imo. Let another religious leader say this about the Pope and I will take those remarks more seriously.

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Any politician has to be tactful when eulogizing the dead. He can't just come out and say " this guy was an a*&hole. I'm glad hes dead". You have to show some decorum. If they said what they truly felt, Yasser Arafat would have been trashed by just about every politician on Earth.

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But then, if a politician says nothing about the Pope's death, then the opposition comes back in a few years, and says that the person is insensitive to Catholics, and that there is no public record of him/her offereing sympathy, condolences, or showing respect for the Pope's life at the time of his passing. The situation could be exploited either way!

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I guess I am a cynic too.  Politicians say things to get quoted or get their picture on tv.  Some may be religious.  However it personally bothered me to hear President Bush talking about the Pope as a man of peace, becuase I consider Bush to be the exact opposite imo.  Let another religious leader say this about the Pope and I will take those remarks more seriously.

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Trekz, you REALLY don't know a whole lot about John Paul II, do you? He WAS a peace-maker. He went to Jerusalem to the Wailing Wall and left a note to God asking him to forgive the catholics for their treatment of Jews, AKA, he was the FIRST Pope to APOLOGIZE for atrocities committed by Catholics to Jews. he was also the first Pope to step foot into a Mosque. He WAS a Man of Peace, and President Bush wasn't just paying lip service. as a religious man, I think President Bush truely admired John Paul II. Other politicians, the more Secular ones, probably were giving a bit more lip service to the Pope, but, still, he was a truely good person, and I think the WORLD should be in mourning over the loss of such a good man.

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I guess I am a cynic too.  Politicians say things to get quoted or get their picture on tv.  Some may be religious.  However it personally bothered me to hear President Bush talking about the Pope as a man of peace, becuase I consider Bush to be the exact opposite imo.  Let another religious leader say this about the Pope and I will take those remarks more seriously.

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Trekz, you REALLY don't know a whole lot about John Paul II, do you? He WAS a peace-maker. He went to Jerusalem to the Wailing Wall and left a note to God asking him to forgive the catholics for their treatment of Jews, AKA, he was the FIRST Pope to APOLOGIZE for atrocities committed by Catholics to Jews. he was also the first Pope to step foot into a Mosque. He WAS a Man of Peace, and President Bush wasn't just paying lip service. as a religious man, I think President Bush truely admired John Paul II. Other politicians, the more Secular ones, probably were giving a bit more lip service to the Pope, but, still, he was a truely good person, and I think the WORLD should be in mourning over the loss of such a good man.

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Please read my quote again. I never say I do not think the Pope was a man of peace. He obviously was a great man of peace. What I am saying is that I was upset when President Bush called the Pope a man of peace because I consider President Bush to be a man of war and imo that makes him a poor person to comment on a great peacemaker like the Pope. You may criticize my opinion of President Bush but please do not tell me that I don't know anything about the Pope. I also think the opinion of another religious leader toward the Pope is much more valuable than that of any politician imo.

Edited by trekz

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For what it's worth Trekz, I understood what you were saying.

 

I think anyone, and that includes the Pope, deserves better than to have their funeral serve as a platform for politicians self serving statements. But that's how life is.

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