Former President George W. Bush said during a speech Thursday that “bigotry seems emboldened” in the current U.S. climate and that white supremacy “is blasphemy against the American creed.”
“In recent decades, public confidence in our institutions has declined,” Mr. Bush said at a forum sponsored by the George W. Bush Institute in New York. “Our governing class has often been paralyzed in the face of obvious and pressing needs.
“The American dream of upward mobility seems out of reach for some who feel left behind in a changing economy,” he continued. “Discontent has deepened and sharpened partisan conflicts. Bigotry seems emboldened. Our politics seems more vulnerable to conspiracy theories and outright fabrication.
“There are some signs that the intensity of support for democracy itself has waned, especially among the young who never experienced the galvanizing moral clarity of the Cold War or never focused on the ruin of entire nations by socialist central planning,” Mr. Bush said. “Some have called this democratic deconsolidation. Really, it seems to be a combination of weariness, frayed tempers and forgetfulness.”
Mr. Bush added later that bigotry and white supremacy “is blasphemy against the American creed,” according to videos tweeted by ABC News.
Former Pres. George W. Bush: “Bigotry seems emboldened. Our politics seems more vulnerable to conspiracy theories and outright fabrication.” pic.twitter.com/T3dHCtfiFZ
— ABC News (@ABC) October 19, 2017
Former Pres. George W. Bush: “Bigotry or white supremacy in any form is blasphemy against the American creed.” https://t.co/n7TqA3VDnW pic.twitter.com/NqOvYcXOHD
— ABC News (@ABC) October 19, 2017
• Jessica Chasmar can be reached at jchasmar@washingtontimes.com.
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