Topic 29: Leviathan
May. 31st, 2012 02:51 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
java_fiendOnce again, I lay my entry upon the altar of the mighty Idol gods. As always, may they be kind and merciful...
There is something lurking just below the surface of this country. It is a hulking beast that skulks in the shadows. It’s enormous. It’s wicked. It has sharp teeth and fangs and revels in devouring people whole while clawing at the soft underbelly of the nation. And the damnable thing is that it is a monster we’ve created and unleashed upon ourselves.
It goes by many names and wears many disguises but in truth, it is a multi-headed beast called fear, hatred, ignorance and bigotry.
Turn on Rush Limbaugh, Michelle Malkin, Glenn Beck or any of a hundred other right-wing talking heads and you will hear the same basic message being trumpeted… fear, it’s the blacks, fear, it’s the Mexicans, hate, it’s the gays, fear and hate, it’s the vagina, fear, it’s the liberals, fear, it’s the Muslims, hate, it’s the poor and downtrodden, hate, it’s the sick and handicapped… AND MORE FEAR GODDAMMIT!
Go ahead, go listen to just an hour of right-wing programming and tell me I’m wrong. No really, go ahead. I’ll wait…
… Feel like you need a hot shower and a scrubdown using steel wool and bleach after that cascading shower of putrefying shit? Yeah, I don’t blame you.
The tribalism in this country isn’t a new thing. Nor is the spreading of fear or the demonizing of entire groups of people. Over the years, it’s been African-Americans, it’s been the Irish, it was the Chinese, it was the Japanese, the gays, the poor and on and on and on… for being “One Nation Under [insert deity of choice reference here] we certainly do a fantastic job of dividing ourselves up into tidy little parcels of ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation, economics and gender among other things.
But somewhere along the way, somebody realized that those divisions can be exploited for political gain. And personally speaking, I think the fact that capitalizing on people’s fear, ignorance and blind hatred has become the coin of the realm though, that it is the currency now being used to influence how and why we vote the way we vote is both a sad and terrifying statement.
It would be one thing if the vitriol, lies, race baiting and the spread of ignorance and fear were contained to outlets like Fox News or whatever radio stations are currently carrying Limbaugh, Beck and others of their ilk. At least for them, you can make the case that controversy equals ratings and ratings equal big paydays… did somebody say Howard Stern? It’s absolute trash entertainment that appeals to the lowest common denominator but then, so is Jersey Shore. Ahem. But when you have sitting members of Congress giving those hatemongers credibility by pushing the same fear-based and intolerant agenda built on lies and bigotry, when you hear presidential candidates echoing the hateful sentiments expressed by the most vicious right-wing talking heads, it’s something that should make you sit up and take notice.
Undoubtedly, some will say that I’m exaggerating or being hyperbolic to make a point and push an agenda. And it certainly is their right to think that. It being a free country and all that. But before you pass that judgment, let me ask you to consider a few things… and I have to limit it to “a few” otherwise I’d write something longer than War and Peace.
First off, let’s consider the whole “Birther” movement. We’ve been hearing the right-wing bellowing their demands for President Obama to produce his birth certificate since the day he was sworn in. As the screaming for a birth certificate has increased in volume and fervor among some of the right-wing rank and file, the GOP has responded by not shooting such stupidity down but by glomming on to what is a ridiculous non-issue in the hopes of appeasing their base. The problem with that strategy however is that the base keeps sliding further and further to the right and the GOP is running to catch up… which is only quickening their descent into Crazytown.
And while I’m on the subject, for posterity’s sake, let me call the “birther” movement for what it is… it is an ignorant outcry that is absolutely steeped in racism. Period. I know, I know, I can hear the screams of outraged protest from here. Though it’s thankfully somewhat muffled by the hoods. Ahem. Before you discount that entirely though, ask yourself this question… was John McCain asked to provide his birth certificate? Was George W. Bush? Was Bill Clinton? Was Al Gore? Was John Kerry? Was Richard Nixon? John F. Kennedy? Franklin Delano Roosevelt? Hell, has Mitt freaking Romney been asked to provide his birth certificate? No, they haven’t. And why not? What is the thing that links all of those different people together? If you said, they look horrible in Speedos and the color of their skin, give yourself a gold star. For it was the instant that somebody who didn’t look like one of the “old boy’s club” and had a funny sounding name that the screams of “Marxist-Socialist-Kenyan-Nazi-Muslim” started and the birth certificate issue came roaring to life.
And it hasn’t died down since… even Donald Trump, who is now vehemently championing GOP-nominee Mitt Romney, has jumped on the birther-bandwagon with both feet. Very telling to me is the fact that Romney has said absolutely nothing to repudiate the statements of Trump and the other birther fools but very happily continues to enjoy The Donald’s largesse. But then, Mitt is also the man who simply said that Rush Limbaugh branding Sandra Fluke a “prostitute” and a “slut” for wanting access to birth control “weren’t the words he would have used” so I have no illusions about what sort of person he truly is anyway.
Something else I offer for your consideration is the treatment of the LBGT community and the fight for equal rights in this country. For being the party that espouses personal freedoms, non-governmental interference in our lives and love for the Constitution, the right-wing seems to know appallingly little about any of those things. The GOP and their surrogates in religious establishments as well as the media have gone on an offensive against the LGBT community that would make the allied bombing of Dresden look like a simple fireworks show. They have (and continue) to demonize the gay and transgender community, blaming them for everything from 9/11 to Hurricane Katrina to the destruction of the family unit to bringing about the end-times to puppies and kittens dying. If the right-wing can find a way to blame the LGBT community for something, rest assured they will. The religious right-wingers have gotten their people so ramped up about the gay community that prominent preachers in North Carolina and Kansas can come out and say they think gays should be rounded up, stuck in camps and killed and nobody says a thing. Not a single one of these right-wing politicians who love to smack us upside the head with their Bibles every chance they get slithered out from beneath their rocks to denounce these people. Yet they still turn around and criticize President Obama for attending Jeremiah Wright’s church… completely glossing over the fact that what Reverend Wright was saying in those sermons they love to trot out was absolutely true.
And for what?
Look, I get it. Some folks oppose gay marriage on religious grounds. That’s great. And lucky for you, the best way to practice that opposition is super simple… don’t marry somebody of the same sex as yourself. See? Problem solved!
But of course, the GOP and the right-wing media machine continues to trumpet the (non-existent) threat of gay marriage upon the American way of life and the institution of marriage (you know, the only real marriage!) to keep the religious folk coming out to the polls year after year after year. Completely ignoring the fact that 72 day marriages like Kim Kardashian’s, 58-hour marriages like Britney Spears’, not to mention shows like The Bachelor, Bachelorette and whatever other “instant love and marriage just add water” reality show is on has more of a detrimental impact and devaluation of that oh-so-sacred institution than a gay couple could ever have.
The bottom line is seeing two men or two women kissing simply makes some people feel all icky inside. But you know what? That’s your problem and your cross to bear in this life. If your faith and your marriage are so weak that they can’t withstand the sight of two people of the same gender who found that wonderful little spark called love within each other, then that says a hell of a lot about you and your own relationship. And you need to find a way to deal with it because there is not one valid Constitutional argument to be made for denying same-sex couples EQUAL RIGHTS UNDER THE LAW as heterosexual couples. Not one. You may wave your Bible at me but I’ll direct you to the United States Constitution which, unlike the Good Book, is the supreme law of this land and in particular, to the first and the fourteenth Amendments to said Constitution.
The Constitution entitles you to live your life the way you want and with your own sense of morality. Great. I’m certainly in no position to tell you how to live. But you are in no position to tell me how to live or dictate my morals to me either because the Constitution grants me the same rights as you whether you like it or not.
If you step back and look at the arguments the right-wing makes on hot-button issues ranging from abortion to gay rights to gun control to immigration to economics with a critical eye, it’s not difficult to see that they appealing to fear instead of reason, ignorance instead of logic, bigotry instead of tolerance and hatred instead of compassion. They “otherize” and “demonize” people, appealing to our base and tribal instincts. They seek to keep us divided and warring amongst ourselves rather than bringing us together to do what’s best for the country and the people. They attack the Muslims. The gays. The Mexicans. Women. Education. Africa-Americans. A foreign policy whose primary mission isn’t to bomb people. On issue after issue after issue they seek to divide and scare the living piss out of us. The right-wing knows that is the best recipe to maintain their power and control. And for them, that’s what it’s all about. It’s not about what’s doing right by the country and the people. It’s about amassing power, wealth and doing what’s right for themselves.
We have an election coming this November. And though the issues that will be talked about are jobs, the economy, gay rights, the military, terrorism and a plethora of other things, what’s really at stake is far simpler.
This election is about the soul of this country.
Will we continue feeding that hulking beast in the shadows by giving in to the fear and the hate? Or will we final begin to drive a stake through its heart? Do we want to live in a world where we are in constant fear of the “other?” Or do we want to learn to live with our fellow man peacefully and compassionately? Do we want to leave this world, to borrow a cliché, a kinder and more gentle place? Or do we want to continue on divided and demonizing others who aren’t “like us?”
Don’t listen to me. Or to Rush. Or Jon Stewart. Or Rachel Maddow. Or Glenn Beck. Turn off Fox News, MSNBC and CNN… do the legwork. Do your own research. Listen to what the candidates actually say rather than a 5-second sound byte. Know who and what you are voting for. Care enough to get informed.
The soul of our nation is truly what’s at stake this November. And you need to ask yourself, what sort of a world do you want to live in?
This has been my entry for![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-community.gif)
therealljidol Season 8; Topic 29: "Leviathan". As always, thank you so much for swinging by and giving me a read! Your support really means the world to me. When the polls open... if they open... don't forget to swing on by, check out some of the other great stuff and spread a little voting love around! Thanks, guys!!!
There is something lurking just below the surface of this country. It is a hulking beast that skulks in the shadows. It’s enormous. It’s wicked. It has sharp teeth and fangs and revels in devouring people whole while clawing at the soft underbelly of the nation. And the damnable thing is that it is a monster we’ve created and unleashed upon ourselves.
It goes by many names and wears many disguises but in truth, it is a multi-headed beast called fear, hatred, ignorance and bigotry.
Turn on Rush Limbaugh, Michelle Malkin, Glenn Beck or any of a hundred other right-wing talking heads and you will hear the same basic message being trumpeted… fear, it’s the blacks, fear, it’s the Mexicans, hate, it’s the gays, fear and hate, it’s the vagina, fear, it’s the liberals, fear, it’s the Muslims, hate, it’s the poor and downtrodden, hate, it’s the sick and handicapped… AND MORE FEAR GODDAMMIT!
Go ahead, go listen to just an hour of right-wing programming and tell me I’m wrong. No really, go ahead. I’ll wait…
… Feel like you need a hot shower and a scrubdown using steel wool and bleach after that cascading shower of putrefying shit? Yeah, I don’t blame you.
The tribalism in this country isn’t a new thing. Nor is the spreading of fear or the demonizing of entire groups of people. Over the years, it’s been African-Americans, it’s been the Irish, it was the Chinese, it was the Japanese, the gays, the poor and on and on and on… for being “One Nation Under [insert deity of choice reference here] we certainly do a fantastic job of dividing ourselves up into tidy little parcels of ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation, economics and gender among other things.
But somewhere along the way, somebody realized that those divisions can be exploited for political gain. And personally speaking, I think the fact that capitalizing on people’s fear, ignorance and blind hatred has become the coin of the realm though, that it is the currency now being used to influence how and why we vote the way we vote is both a sad and terrifying statement.
It would be one thing if the vitriol, lies, race baiting and the spread of ignorance and fear were contained to outlets like Fox News or whatever radio stations are currently carrying Limbaugh, Beck and others of their ilk. At least for them, you can make the case that controversy equals ratings and ratings equal big paydays… did somebody say Howard Stern? It’s absolute trash entertainment that appeals to the lowest common denominator but then, so is Jersey Shore. Ahem. But when you have sitting members of Congress giving those hatemongers credibility by pushing the same fear-based and intolerant agenda built on lies and bigotry, when you hear presidential candidates echoing the hateful sentiments expressed by the most vicious right-wing talking heads, it’s something that should make you sit up and take notice.
Undoubtedly, some will say that I’m exaggerating or being hyperbolic to make a point and push an agenda. And it certainly is their right to think that. It being a free country and all that. But before you pass that judgment, let me ask you to consider a few things… and I have to limit it to “a few” otherwise I’d write something longer than War and Peace.
First off, let’s consider the whole “Birther” movement. We’ve been hearing the right-wing bellowing their demands for President Obama to produce his birth certificate since the day he was sworn in. As the screaming for a birth certificate has increased in volume and fervor among some of the right-wing rank and file, the GOP has responded by not shooting such stupidity down but by glomming on to what is a ridiculous non-issue in the hopes of appeasing their base. The problem with that strategy however is that the base keeps sliding further and further to the right and the GOP is running to catch up… which is only quickening their descent into Crazytown.
And while I’m on the subject, for posterity’s sake, let me call the “birther” movement for what it is… it is an ignorant outcry that is absolutely steeped in racism. Period. I know, I know, I can hear the screams of outraged protest from here. Though it’s thankfully somewhat muffled by the hoods. Ahem. Before you discount that entirely though, ask yourself this question… was John McCain asked to provide his birth certificate? Was George W. Bush? Was Bill Clinton? Was Al Gore? Was John Kerry? Was Richard Nixon? John F. Kennedy? Franklin Delano Roosevelt? Hell, has Mitt freaking Romney been asked to provide his birth certificate? No, they haven’t. And why not? What is the thing that links all of those different people together? If you said, they look horrible in Speedos and the color of their skin, give yourself a gold star. For it was the instant that somebody who didn’t look like one of the “old boy’s club” and had a funny sounding name that the screams of “Marxist-Socialist-Kenyan-Nazi-Muslim” started and the birth certificate issue came roaring to life.
And it hasn’t died down since… even Donald Trump, who is now vehemently championing GOP-nominee Mitt Romney, has jumped on the birther-bandwagon with both feet. Very telling to me is the fact that Romney has said absolutely nothing to repudiate the statements of Trump and the other birther fools but very happily continues to enjoy The Donald’s largesse. But then, Mitt is also the man who simply said that Rush Limbaugh branding Sandra Fluke a “prostitute” and a “slut” for wanting access to birth control “weren’t the words he would have used” so I have no illusions about what sort of person he truly is anyway.
Something else I offer for your consideration is the treatment of the LBGT community and the fight for equal rights in this country. For being the party that espouses personal freedoms, non-governmental interference in our lives and love for the Constitution, the right-wing seems to know appallingly little about any of those things. The GOP and their surrogates in religious establishments as well as the media have gone on an offensive against the LGBT community that would make the allied bombing of Dresden look like a simple fireworks show. They have (and continue) to demonize the gay and transgender community, blaming them for everything from 9/11 to Hurricane Katrina to the destruction of the family unit to bringing about the end-times to puppies and kittens dying. If the right-wing can find a way to blame the LGBT community for something, rest assured they will. The religious right-wingers have gotten their people so ramped up about the gay community that prominent preachers in North Carolina and Kansas can come out and say they think gays should be rounded up, stuck in camps and killed and nobody says a thing. Not a single one of these right-wing politicians who love to smack us upside the head with their Bibles every chance they get slithered out from beneath their rocks to denounce these people. Yet they still turn around and criticize President Obama for attending Jeremiah Wright’s church… completely glossing over the fact that what Reverend Wright was saying in those sermons they love to trot out was absolutely true.
And for what?
Look, I get it. Some folks oppose gay marriage on religious grounds. That’s great. And lucky for you, the best way to practice that opposition is super simple… don’t marry somebody of the same sex as yourself. See? Problem solved!
But of course, the GOP and the right-wing media machine continues to trumpet the (non-existent) threat of gay marriage upon the American way of life and the institution of marriage (you know, the only real marriage!) to keep the religious folk coming out to the polls year after year after year. Completely ignoring the fact that 72 day marriages like Kim Kardashian’s, 58-hour marriages like Britney Spears’, not to mention shows like The Bachelor, Bachelorette and whatever other “instant love and marriage just add water” reality show is on has more of a detrimental impact and devaluation of that oh-so-sacred institution than a gay couple could ever have.
The bottom line is seeing two men or two women kissing simply makes some people feel all icky inside. But you know what? That’s your problem and your cross to bear in this life. If your faith and your marriage are so weak that they can’t withstand the sight of two people of the same gender who found that wonderful little spark called love within each other, then that says a hell of a lot about you and your own relationship. And you need to find a way to deal with it because there is not one valid Constitutional argument to be made for denying same-sex couples EQUAL RIGHTS UNDER THE LAW as heterosexual couples. Not one. You may wave your Bible at me but I’ll direct you to the United States Constitution which, unlike the Good Book, is the supreme law of this land and in particular, to the first and the fourteenth Amendments to said Constitution.
The Constitution entitles you to live your life the way you want and with your own sense of morality. Great. I’m certainly in no position to tell you how to live. But you are in no position to tell me how to live or dictate my morals to me either because the Constitution grants me the same rights as you whether you like it or not.
If you step back and look at the arguments the right-wing makes on hot-button issues ranging from abortion to gay rights to gun control to immigration to economics with a critical eye, it’s not difficult to see that they appealing to fear instead of reason, ignorance instead of logic, bigotry instead of tolerance and hatred instead of compassion. They “otherize” and “demonize” people, appealing to our base and tribal instincts. They seek to keep us divided and warring amongst ourselves rather than bringing us together to do what’s best for the country and the people. They attack the Muslims. The gays. The Mexicans. Women. Education. Africa-Americans. A foreign policy whose primary mission isn’t to bomb people. On issue after issue after issue they seek to divide and scare the living piss out of us. The right-wing knows that is the best recipe to maintain their power and control. And for them, that’s what it’s all about. It’s not about what’s doing right by the country and the people. It’s about amassing power, wealth and doing what’s right for themselves.
We have an election coming this November. And though the issues that will be talked about are jobs, the economy, gay rights, the military, terrorism and a plethora of other things, what’s really at stake is far simpler.
This election is about the soul of this country.
Will we continue feeding that hulking beast in the shadows by giving in to the fear and the hate? Or will we final begin to drive a stake through its heart? Do we want to live in a world where we are in constant fear of the “other?” Or do we want to learn to live with our fellow man peacefully and compassionately? Do we want to leave this world, to borrow a cliché, a kinder and more gentle place? Or do we want to continue on divided and demonizing others who aren’t “like us?”
Don’t listen to me. Or to Rush. Or Jon Stewart. Or Rachel Maddow. Or Glenn Beck. Turn off Fox News, MSNBC and CNN… do the legwork. Do your own research. Listen to what the candidates actually say rather than a 5-second sound byte. Know who and what you are voting for. Care enough to get informed.
The soul of our nation is truly what’s at stake this November. And you need to ask yourself, what sort of a world do you want to live in?
This has been my entry for
therealljidol Season 8; Topic 29: "Leviathan". As always, thank you so much for swinging by and giving me a read! Your support really means the world to me. When the polls open... if they open... don't forget to swing on by, check out some of the other great stuff and spread a little voting love around! Thanks, guys!!!
