Goodbye, Cruel World
The world would be a better place if the American right wing had never existed. Thousands of Americans and Iraqis would still be alive, tens of thousands or Iraqis would still be living in their own homes. The American economy would not have hopped from bubble to bubble if the right wing had not put all of their faith in deregulation, and American jobs would not have been sent abroad. Our tax dollars would not have flowed upward into the coffers of the rich, and the war machine would not comprise such a large part of our economy. We would have retained the respect of other nations, and not aroused the absolute hatred of those we have attempted to bomb into submission. We would get along better with one another if the right wing had not used tribal hatreds to arouse their base against black people, immigrants, liberals, and the well-educated. Our infrastructure, health care, and schools would be better if the billions spent on futile wars had been spent on domestic needs. The planet would be a better place if our addiction to oil had been broken 25 years ago.
But the issue goes deeper even that these practical matters. We would, in fact, be happier people if the right wing had not terrorized us with their horror-filled systems of belief. The Friedmanites are bad enough -- in their world, there are only winners and losers. Everyone deserves what they get, and if a child who gets melamine in his milk is a victim of "creative destruction", well, too bad, because some rich person is getting a little bit more money. In the capitalist world, you are not just supposed to starve, you are supposed to deserve starving -- insult added to injury, humiliation added pain. Of course, as Naomi Klein has shown, the "free market" is never free at all, it is fixed, by dictators and armies and oligarchs. But the thrust of the propaganda stands. We may call this the "Phil Gramm Position".
As bad as this is, far worse has been the effect of religious fundamentalism on the individual spirit and the national mood. By now, we all know some child (or former child) who has been terrorized by "the Rapture" -- who has come home after school to an empty house, only to panic because he or she is convinced that everyone else has been "raptured up." The left behind one has to reckon with the idea that not only is everyone he or she loves gone, he or she has done something wrong according to Jesus, and failed to deserve salvation. I call this child abuse. The religious right has been determined to enforce the unhappiness of others, no doubt so that that unhappiness will match their own. After all, they want to make sure that gay people understand that no matter how much they pay in taxes, they are second class citizens. They also want to make sure that every woman in the world understands that her interests are secondary to those of any embryo, any man, even, indeed, any sperm cell. This would be the "James Dobson Position".
The God of the right wing, and of the Bible, is a pretty arbitrary guy. He lays down the rules, but you can get those boils or those locusts even if you didn't knowingly do anything wrong, in fact, even if you didn't do anything wrong at all. Your personal God could punish you for something someone else did, as in the Bible he frequently punishes the enemies of Israel, men, women, children, dogs, cats, goats, etc., just for being the enemies of Israel. I love how right wing preachers pray away hurricanes, sending them to places like Bermuda. If your God is arbitrary, then of course you are always anxious and depressed -- your adrenaline is always pumping. And you are never motivated to understand how the world works. But locusts and boils and hurricanes have causes -- physical, medical, and ecological. Society can avoid locusts and boils and even mitigate the effects of hurricanes if it understands cause and effect, but if your God is an arbitrary authoritarian, and your father was an arbitrary authoritarian, then you never truly understand cause and effect in the world we live in. As we all know, no religion has ever successfully answered the problems raised by the issue of an omnipotent God. The best they offer is to forbid questioning, and to punish those who do. Because the right wing experiences the world as cruel and arbitrary, they have no inhibitions about enhancing that cruelty -- as in "Hurricane Katrina", as in "Iraq War", and in "Abu Ghraib".
This is the world we have been living in for the past thirty years.
In a week, we have a chance to leave this world behind. If we look at our two candidates, the differences between them are stark. John McCain, who was raised by and accepts the authoritarian model, is evidently never at peace. He is hot-headed, erratic, and has been remarkably cruel. He claims to have principles, but his principles change every time he loses his cool. The more he is pushed, the more it becomes evident that he lives by his own selfish desires -- for money, for power, for women. He's is a classic avoider, who can't even answer the simplest question -- if something "unpleasant" comes up, he changes the subject. Barack Obama rarely changes the subject, because he is fully capable of looking at an issue and considering it. He seems to have been reared in a non-authoritarian household, by a loving mother and loving grandparents. He thinks that the world is a rational place that can be understood and modified. His own family seems happy and loving. Right wingers think he is shallow, but he isn't shallow -- he's well-adjusted. And we've had two whole years to poke him and prod him and discover this. Obama has grown through campaigning because he has learned from it. McCain gets ever smaller and more weird as he campaigns because he doesn't understand what is happening to him. When we choose between these two men, we are choosing between two worlds -- the world of ignorance, fear, manipulation, and cruelty, and the world of rational investigation, weighing of options, and planning. This world is a world where sexual preference is not such a big deal, salvation is not an eternal mystery, and life goes on. It's a world where bad things happen, but there is no malign Godly intention behind them. It is world that understands the temptations of human nature and attempts to deal with them rationally and systematically. Some of these attempts will fail, but on balance, not as many as have failed in the last twenty-five years.
Most of my friends see the coming election as the most important we have known. The right wing has damaged our country, our livelihoods, our national honor, and our planet, but not yet fatally. If McCain gets elected, that could change.
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One of the best messages & summaries I have read about this issue in
a long time. It is the soul searching we need, but who in right wing churches
does that - they are all based on fear and manipulation at their foundation,
with their "followers" living in fear.... yes it is abusive, but do they know this
any more? I have relatives in that world who are totally brainwashed
and no longer think anything out whatsoever.
As much as I hope for a coming change, I also hope people get over the
idea they must "submit" to whoever "rulers" are in "power", and keep participating
locally and daily in the democratic process. Attend local meetings, protest,
petition, support good legislation, keep educating yourself , and stop being so passive,
people.
The problem is that this is the kind of thing that should be read by the folks in the center. Here, she is just preaching to the converted. What is the point?
No, there are a few conservatives that enjoy debating the issues on Huffingtonpost. Most posts are from like minded individuals but occasionally there are good debates and exchanges of ideas. And sadly, there are a few closed minded individuals that spout hate.
Levi
Okay, we should get over the idea we must "submit" to whoever "rulers" are in "power"? Are you referring to God or Government?
Levi
Eloquently said. Thanks.
Well said, thank you for sharing my views.
A beautifully written essay. Thank you for such a thoughtful, eloquent (and yes, that is a good word despite its repeatedly sarcastic use by the McCain-Palin campaign) piece. I too, however, will join with those who say please don't judge Christianity by those who misuse it as a weapon of fear and division. My Chrisitan faith is central to my life. I believe we are all "Children of a Greater God" than the god of right wing politics. God does not belong to any political party just as patriotism does not belong to a polticial party.
When the election is over and Senator Obama takes office (as I firmly believe he will), we will have a great opportunity to reach out to a large number of Americans who may well be weary of the politics of fear and division. Let us learn a lesson from the short reign of Governor Elliot Spitzer. Let us use this opportunity to reach out to the "other side", to allow some "face saving" and not just "take the power and run with it". Yes, there will always be those who foster fear, hate and division. Nothing can be done about them. But there are a large amount of decent Americans from the "other side" who will respond well to a time of healing and goodwill.
Well said. Jane, well said.
I so look forward to the reclamation, the exorcism if you will, of the words "liberal, and progressiv
I'm tired of being a demon.
I
What about the words libertarian or conservative? How about "big" corporations, Wall Street "fat cats", or CEO's? Do you think those people have been demonized?
Levi
Although I don't think all so called liberal's causes and actions have really been good (some were more like irresponsible demanding in the name of "small", "weak", "minority" etc., putting some groups against others...)
T H A N K Y O U!!!
I hope every American will read this, and can set aside their own beliefs just long enough to fully absorb and reflect upon your words. Brava!!
Leave this world behind... where do you think all the loonies are suddenly going to disappear to??
Unfortunately when you take a way the hopes of the Tim McVeighs that are still lout there, you will probably see the rise of the militias once again and a whole bunch of crazy plots.
Freakin sad! it's like America is in a lose-lose situation right now. Beliefs are extremely difficult to modify and with the ignorant it is almost impossible. And you know what these people were brought up to believe.
THat is the wrong attitude.
YES there will always be crazy - I don't think anyone has this Polly Annish view of them all just sliding down a dark hole and disappearing.
BUT, if we can work together, come together - then that usually rubs off on even the most bitter of us. I think with each generation it will get less and less.
Especially with a 1/2 black 1/2 white president who can show children that they can do anything they can put their minds to.
This was powerful, clear and insightful as always.
I know a few "McCains" and I have exhausted myself trying to make them see just a little bit of reason. People like this see the world in black in white with no room for empathy, kindness, compassion or negotiation.
Things are bad but Obama has the intelligence and depth to lead a tired and beaten down nation back to a place where we can lift our heads again.
Beautifully put. I do not trust authority, nor have since I was 18. (Now 59). That doesn't mean I don't recognize their power and how it affects my life. It just makes me seek facts and logic more than the average person.
IHigh level greed is a crime. It costs this country more than all street muggers ever could. The reason they get away with it is by their unchecked authority. This is not to debunk good, caring honest CEO's and Leaders, but it makes it hard for them to achieve on an even playing field.
Sorry, but McCain has invested his time since his POW experience hanging with these types and his mindset is now skewed to the point where he cannot recognize the middle class and their struggles. He thinks it's this Joe the Plumber guy. I cannot relate to a plumber wannabe, whining that he might have to pay more taxes (3%) if he clears $250,000. His sacrifice will be a boat or a shortened vacation. Again, I checked the facts, talked to small business people, and Joe the Plumber is debunked.
I cannot relate to a man who discusses Nuclear Energy Safety as blah, blah, blah. Has he no reference to Chernolbyl. I have now heard our Nuclear Plants have 50 year old technology and the people who understand it are old and retired. So that's a problem blah blah blah.
"He thinks that the world is a rational place that can be understood and modified."
You state the case eloquently. He is over his head and out of his element. You cannot, by definition, understand psychosis. You cannot understand ignorant people who enslave their women and cut off the heads of those who don't believe as they do.
Biden said he was unqualified for the job. He also said the Presidency does not lend itself to on the job training. Joe should know. Unlike the rookie Obama, Joe has been there for a long time.
He will be seen by leaders around the world for what he is, a weak idealist depending on words to defend himself from the cruel world. Something that must have worked when he was growing up but something that will just be viewed as sweetly naive by the real world.
If he gets elected hunker down. As Mao said, power comes from the barrel of a gun. That's what they understand and that's where they live.
Even China does not believe that anymore...
Only a strong economy has real power... and can continue to afford a capable military force.
Application of military force may serve ideological but never economical purposes. It is simply too wasteful for both sides. Negotiations and diplomacy are the only rational option. So application of military force is the ultimate option only if all other options have failed because of an irrational adversary (assuming our own are still acting rational.
Iraq is a clear example of the irrational application of military force. The US has changed its motive so many times that it doesn't even believe in its own motivation anymore.
When Obama/Biden get elected it will be time to hunker down, not from an external threat but from within. The james dobson's, tim mcveighs and the rest of the lunatic right in, (some sitting in congress) are going to come forth spewing their hate and fake family values.
What a typical blowhard response. You know nothing, yet to presume to say that he will be perceived as a weakling. Maybe you haven't seen the Diplomatic awakening from other countries and the cheering in the streets from our allies. The only ones cheering on the Repubs are the Bin Ladins of the world as they get to exert and grow their power vicariously thru American war-mongering.
Give me the direct quote where Biden says Obama's not qualified and spare me the cut and paste talking points where your ilk seems to live. Bidens comments were a set up to a closing statement where he proudly stated that "anyone who tests Obama will find steel in his spine". Seems like that part is always conveniently discarded in your troll talking points.
We need to go back to the days where we walked softly, but carried a big stick. There are terrorists out there who want to hurt us, we need to weed them out, not fertilize them.
He may indeed be an "idealist", but is quite "pragmatic" and holds fewer illusions than your estimation gives him credit for being aware with an adeptness that WILL serve us far better than the gut decisionmakers have recently done.
Christians are a far cry from your description if you don't mind my saying so.
"Christian Right" bible thumpers are angry egotistical individuals with a selfish agenda.
Note: All your praise of Obama forgets one thing - he is a Christian!!!
I believe you've captured the essence of the choice to be made perfectly. This election is not just about who will lead America, but about who America is as a nation and where the country goes from here. This wonderful piece makes it clear where the choice you will make in this election will lead and what the consequences will be.
Thank you Jane for such a beautiful honest evaluation of the 2 candidates.
You are so right about the Republicans indifference to cruelty against a sovereign nation, poverty in our own country and concern for only the handful of extremely wealthy among us.
Obama/Biden
Excellent article! I for one am just tired of all the misery that has been inflicted on the USA for over thirty years. The suffering has been uncalled for. Why do we treat our fellow citizens this way? What is wrong with peace and feeling uplifted?? The neocons are horrible! They have to go! Conservative is one thing...ne
Wow! Wow, indeed!
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