On the way to work this morning, for no reason whatsoever, I started to think about the countless questions that I have - many for some time now - that remain completely unanswered. At least in a satisfactory way. I remember as a youngling, when I found myself puzzled, I could do one of two things: ask somebody, or go to the library.
Being raised in a Catholic home and having attended a Catholic grammar school, ask someone inevitably meant bracing for the response "Because that's the way God wants it". Looking it up usually meant referring to either my father's Encyclopedia collection (that, no lie, when listing the Presidents, had "John Fitzgerald Kennedy: 1961 -" and well, didn't refer to African-Americans in a way I'm comfortable repeating on the internet) or going to a slightly (not by much) more updated library.
But the internet changed all that. Or, at least it was supposed to. Still, things remain that not even Google will answer. I'm not talking about the philosophical ("Why are we here?") or the conspiratorial ("Who killed Kennedy?"). Simple questions that nobody has taken the time to answer for me, despite my ranting, and what I believe to be sensible queries into the times we live in.
So, in borrowing a phrase from my favorite villain on my favorite horrible TV show as a kid, I ask you, The Internet....
Riddle Me This: How can the same people who decried Barack Obama's Christian Pastor Jeremiah Wright now say with a straight face that they believe Obama is a Mulsim?
I'm serious. For years my wife's favorite gripe about BushCheneyCo was "their inability to hold an opposing thoughts". Well my dear, the right wing has finally taken "holding opposing thoughts" to the extreme.
They spent the better part of 2008 screaming about "Black Liberation Theology" that allegedly took place at these Christian churches in the inner city. Now, 33% of Republicans think that the President is a Muslim.
I'm not stupid. I know these people treat Muslim as a derogatory slur that they're somehow - in ways that they're too feeble-minded to understand - allowed to say in public (as opposed to what you and I absolutely know they call him behind closed doors). It's part of the klan-sans-sheets nature of the Tea Party. But I would think that even these simpletons could think back to their outrage at Reverend Wright and realize "Hey? Didn't I kill this guy for baptizing his children in the fucking name of Christ Jesus in this man's church?"
Obviously we're dealing with some low-dangling fruit here. The same folks don't believe he was born in the United States. And I get that there's some backlash because they may feel we disrespected their President who broke the whole world and all. But I don't ever recall anybody on the left ever saying "George Bush is a Genius" after years of saying the complete opposite.
So "cowboy up" teabaggers. How can one man be simultaneously be a Muslim and a White-Hatin' Christian?
At least one inquiring mind wants to know.
I’m not much for the certitude of answers because they are by nature an ending point for dialog. Strength lies in seeking answers, not in finding them (a nod to Andre Gide.) I would however like to offer up my viewpoint since you’ve asked for it. The right wing of this country’s political spectrum thrives on paradoxical tension and misdirection. It is a political strategy that preys on those least equipped to divine (no pun intended) its insidious nature. These cretins; and when I use this term I am aware of the difference between those that are ignorant by choice and those that are kept ignorant by circumstance, are manipulated by a cynical and ill-meaning Republican leadership that uses them as pawns in an effort to preserve our plutocracy.
ReplyDeleteThat being said, we must look to what we laughingly call the left in this country to examine certain conflicts between action and ideology. We profess to value a separation between church and state but continue to use religion as a political football whenever possible. It is for the left to explain why, after the civil rights movement of the 1960’s, we still have little or no concept of the meaning of civil rights (see Gay, Muslim, Mexican, you name it.) It is not for us to decipher the insanity coming from the fringe right. It is for us to look inward and lead from the left! I submit that at present, when given the opportunity to transcend and elevate the political discourse in America, the left betrays its own conscience at every turn. Barrack Obama bent over backward to project the image of a “Good Christian” in 2008. He was just as guilty of infusing his religious beliefs into the political discussion as his opponents (well maybe not Palin.) Now his religious affiliations are being distorted for political effect and we recoil? On a similar note, why is the Anti-Defamation League opposed to a mosque at ground zero when they profess to oppose bigotry aimed at any race, religion, or creed? What about the Muslim-Americans who were killed in the 9/11 attacks? Will the Anti-Defamation League fight for them?
Compared to an apathetic, virtually nonexistent left, the damage created by these t-party clowns is negligible. Are we doing all we can to marginalize them? I know I’m not. Are we saying that the Democratic Party is not progressive enough? Do we pressure them? Do we cling to our independent political status? If not, are we Green? I don’t have any answers for you my old friend, but I think these may be some worthwhile questions.