Remember attacks on German Americans during World War 1? How about more of the same in World War 2? The Japanese internment camps? The perennial demonization of Jews? Gays? Catholics? Not to mention those who toiled and died in slavery and lived lives of humiliation under Jim Crow.
It's all there in the history that seems to have been almost purposely mislaid by those who know too well that a public which knows its own story knows itself; it is an activist public, educated and energized against forces which inevitably seek power through oppression and division.
Like a recalcitrant child who refuses to see the lesson of its past imperfect behavior, the mobs who lately decry Islam and discharge their fatuous bile are only the latest in a long line of porous intellects railing against convenient scapegoats and destined to replay an episode that, were history a requisite part of this nation's diet (instead of just another quaint castoff from the pre-iPhone era), would surely have evolved out of existence.
Instead, the tenacious low-brow rabble will inevitably grow and spawn yet more generations of imbeciles, rotten apples dropped from the blasted bough of a diseased tree (see Mike Judge's "Idiocracy" for some seriously terrifying comedy on the subject).
Because, despite the still reverberating echoes of recent history, echoes which have to fight to pierce the driving blizzard of bandwidth, these routine displays of ignorance have come to define the face of America, the one the world sees and recognizes as the face of a once great, now mad, deposed king.
And since 9/11, there's money to be made in the fear game and keeping it alive and aflame is lining many a capitalisto-fascist's pockets. You know who they are: the loud, the unruly and the pissed, the chicken hawks and the hypocrites, the ones who make no bones about damning an entire people if it fits their writ-in-crayon credo. These are the folks who look at the darker aspects of our nation's history and take away not lessons but blueprints: it can be done again, only slicker, bolder. Using a socio-political-media infrastructure already in place, the cynical purveyors of xenophobia prod a nervous public into making choices already shown in ancient record to be senseless and destructive. But after making them dumb and fat like their bygone antecedents, they become compliant, and embark on their faithful recreation of hateful episodes in human history, like civil war re-enactors who are unaware that they're re-enacting.
And without the essential introspection provided by history's hard lessons, the nation's sanity threatens to descend into dementia in the form of these scurrilous attacks, unchecked by a bought and sold media, pushed to see how far these drones will go before they either riot or revolt.
History shows it's all been done before. Maybe that's why it's so damn easy.
Follow Steven Weber on Twitter: www.twitter.com/@TheStevenWeber
Thank you so much for taking time to reply to so many of the comments, the dialog on this thread has been interesting to say the least!
Hoping you'll phone in to the Stephanie Miller Show some time soon. She misses you.
The author's intellectual dishonesty in ignoring that Islam is at war with us could easily be remedied with honest discussion of Islam.
Semper fi
Traditionally (and conservatives love tradition, right?) the term "war" refers to a declared state of conflict between sovereign nations. Thus, there is no "war on drugs", no "war on Christmas", and no "war on Terror". There never has been, and there never will be, because the actual idea of a "war" against an idea, an event, or a material substance is completely nonsensical.
And the same goes for "war" on a religion. Islam is a set of beliefs and is tied to a set of cultural traditions. It is not a country. It is not a geographic region. It is not even a clearly-defined cultural group, since the beliefs and behaviors of followers of Islam vary just as widely as the beliefs and behaviors of Jews and Christians. There are followers of Islam in America and Germany just as there are in Pakistan and Kuwait.
So Islam is not "at war" with anything. There are militant radical followers of Islam, just as there are militant radical followers of all religions. One could tediously argue for says about whether Islam has "more" than other religions, or whether the core beliefs are "more" violent than other religions. But the fact remains that this is not "war"... it's a small group of radicals who have CLAIMED to represent a very large religion.
Islam's tenets require the world to convert, either voluntarily or forcibly. They have pursued this since its inception in the 7th century. There have been NO major leaders of Islam who have renounced this tenet. Therefore, I argue that Islam IS at war with the civilized world.
Semper fi
we all know it's true. just wait and see what happens when the christians demand that a cross be put in the holy jweish temple. all he// is going to break lose.
Semper fi
i noticed mr weber didn't mention me in the ragtag gang, that's alright, he realizes i have an agenda.
*Kudos.*
It goes something like this:
Commenter one: Corporations would rather spend $Millions$ to fight legislation designed to protect workers, than to spend the few $Thousand$ that it would cost to comply with the legislation.
Commenter two: NAME ONE corporation that does that.
Commenter one: Slaps forehead and posts no response.
Commenter two: I see that no one can provide a single example.
Commenter two: No one? I win!
You didn't; Ignorance did.
Semper fi
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It's all there in the history that seems to have been almost purposely mislaid by those who know too well that a public which knows its own story knows itself; it is an activist public, educated and energized against forces which inevitably seek power through oppression and division.
----
Republicans are actively trying to rewrite American history taught in schools:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/03/13/texas-textbook-massacre-u_n_498003.html
Disgusting behavior.
- Tom
Nothing, about building a recreation center blocks away from the 9/11 site, that welcomes people of all religious backgrounds, is insulting or degrading to the memory of those Americans who died there. A place like this can only generate understanding and some healing.
A person opposing the building of such a place in this location must also be against the religion of the individual building the center. Why? Because it is no different than the long and treacherous history of whites who become enraged at a black family moving into their neigborhoods. Many will say, "Oh, I'm not opposed to black people, they just don't belong in my neighborhood."
People you fear or dislike are fine as long as they go and stay where you want them to be, right?
Just now I checked my profile. 27 people had faved it. Which means they faved you. Naturally there was a troll or two because rotten apple falls as you say, but 27 people read your words and understood. I just thought you'd like to know that.
http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/320530/Know-Nothing-party
I like this article because it gives examples of some of the ridiculous things that come out of our modern media. Some nut says something totally crazy and the media starts repeating it like parrots. Why do they give these nuts the time of day? They all get free airtime.
The news media rarely brings up stuff like the Japanese internment camps, maybe because it's embarrassing to us today? More likely it's not inflammatory enough to put up on the news too much time has passed for people to get all riled up about it.
The Japanese Americans that went through it, aren't complaining to the pundits for political points or trying to get their mug on TV.
Of course we are also to blame, because we sit and listen to the crap that comes out of the TV speaker. We don't complain to them and ask them why they don't do some in depth news instead of all the bull crap.
I get annoyed and want to yell at them for putting such poo on TV and call it news. Of course if I yell at the TV, no one is listening.
Still too many words, honey?
Anyone; Republicans drink at least five cups of coffee a day.
kams; Democrats drink SIX CUPS A DAY!! How can you believe in such a FALSEHOOD??!!!
Itchy.
mmh
Scratchy.