For me, playing the race card is old...it's just tired, tiresome, and antiquated. The once justified and viable civil rights charge from a bygone era is now largely just a dusty ol' anachronism that just won't go away. And keeping it alive seems to have no real benefit, except, of course, for the temporary purpose of dividing people and deflecting blame and attention. Today, the majority of the time that the race card is played it amounts to nothing more than an excuse...and I have a perspective on excuses...about 99% of excuses are just that...excuses. From time to time, the race card is still pulled from the drawer of useless relics, dusted off, and used as an excuse when receiving unwanted criticism, as an excuse for failing to perform, as an excuse for being incompetent, as an excuse for being unable to stand the heat of being in the kitchen or under the hot lights of the big stage. It is so overused that even white people try to play it. Does racism still exist in America? Of course it does. It resides in the hearts and minds of a minority of very "small" people of every race, ethnicity, and religion, and it finds companionship in and draws energy from the various other forms of prejudice and bias that unfortunately can and do infect and blight the human heart. I don't know, given the imperfection of humankind, if that will ever completely change. But today, racism just isn't the real explanation for most of the things that it is used as an alibi or rationalization for.
This week, Rep. Jim Moran (D-VA...sorry, but that's his affiliation), henceforth to be known herein as MORON, in an interview with an Arab news channel, basically explained away the beating that the Democrats took in the mid-term elections in November as the by-product of "straight up" racism, as one of my absolute fave libs, Janeane Garofalo, would characterize it. First off, why do people say stuff like that in that kind of forum? To me, that's like violating the etiquette regarding criticizing one's family...we can chastise each other to each other, but you just don't crack on your family when talking to strangers...you just don't do it. I wouldn't vote for someone who did that...ever. It's been one of my problems with the President and his "apology tour" foreign policy strategy, but of course, I am probably just being a racist for objecting to his "bend over" approach to dealing with the rest of the world (of course, what it actually makes me is a patriot).
So let me get my arms around this MORON's charge...the resounding butt whoopin' that the Dems took in November occurred because white Americans don't want to be ruled by a black president? To begin with, U.S. presidents don't rule...that ain't the way this ship runs. To his assertion that one of largest defeats in modern political history was simply manifestation and proof of widespread racism among white Americans, I say, "Baloney!" (I say that only because I am striving not to ALWAYS use the exact words that I am thinking when writing). You know, I would probably never even think about President Obama being black if people like this MORON guy were not constantly reminding us that he is. Despite what I heard Geraldo Rivera (I really don't like Geraldo a lot) say to to O'Reilly the other night, I really don't know any white folks who get all racist every time they gather around the water cooler at work or throw back a couple of beers in a bar. Honestly, I see the President as an extremely bright (not necessarily an asset given that he may just think that he is smarter than everyone else...and that ain't always good) and personable guy, who clearly loves his family, who likes basketball and other sports (which gives him a bit of an "every man" flavor...and that's a good thing, I think), who seems to have a good sense of humor and a sharp wit, who enjoys having a beer, who is perhaps the most gifted orator of our time (probably got him elected), who, short of experience (seriously short, I might add), seems to possess in his toolbox all of the attributes necessary to be a gifted politician, who is clearly an idealist rather than a pragmatist (and that could work against him), and who seems to possess the ideology of a far left, progressive liberal, perhaps even those of an aspiring pseudo-European-style socialist. Certainly, most of those things are positive, but none make him a bad guy or otherwise unworthy of being president...and without a doubt, none of them have anything to do with his race.
The explanation of November's loss was not race, but instead, rhythm, or the lack thereof. After the Democrats ran the table in 2008, they interpreted their success, as politicians often mistakenly do, as a mandate from the people, as carte blanche to enact legislation actualizing the liberal agenda of the party's far left and the Progressive vision of the President. In reality, I believe that the 2008 mid-term outcome manifested two things: 1) the traditional war weariness that America always experiences as months of fighting turn into years, and 2) the emerging economic panic of a nation whose financial household appeared to be coming apart at the seams. It may have even evidenced "an inconvenient truth" (get it) of a different sort. Let's face it, though re-elected in 2004, 'W' had a cloud of inevitable doom looming over his head tracing back to his disputed "hanging chad" victory over Al "I invented the internet and discovered global warming" Gore back in 2000. I theorize that, were it not for the patriotic aftereffects and inevitable uncertainty associated with the 9/11 terror attacks and the absence of a really attractive Democratic candidate (Mr. Heinz Ketchup...really?...for those who had forgotten...and let's face it, that wouldn't be that hard to do), Bush 43 could have and perhaps would have been defeated in 2004. The bottom line regarding mid-term 2010 is that many Democrats were wrong about what 2008 meant and are just out of rhythm, out of step with the mainstream of America. The President, Nancy Pelosi, Harry Reid, and the rest of the port side of the Democratic party were trying to lead us in some kind of weird, artsy-fartsy modern dance that few of us liked or understood, while most of us average folk are still enjoying the twist, the bump, the disco shuffle, the moon walk, the robot, the soldier boy, the salsa, and crankin' it...you get my drift...my flow.... They want us to dance a dance that we are just not feeling. Their Progressive (and I do not mean moving forward and improving here) vision of social capitalism, radical transformation, redistribution of wealth, collective salvation, social justice, and globalism (one world, one love, one economy, one currency, one government) is not one that I think most Americans relate to. Yes, America, like the rest of this rapidly changing world that we live in, must move forward and keep step; after all, he who stands still is destined to get left behind. But, that does not translate into our having to turn our backs on the ideals, the virtues, the institutions, and the other traditional assets of our forefathers that made our nation great in the first place. Progress just doesn't mean or require that. When you lose sight of and touch with your roots, you lose your identity, your way, your cultural and even moral and compass. If anything, we should hearken back to those things that made us great and build our future progress upon them. The Democrats did not lose the the People's House in November because white Americans resent having a black president. I don't care if this or future PsOTUS are white, black, yellow, green, Polish-American, Latino, male, female, Hindu, Jewish, gay, etc. My support, or lack thereof, will be related to their policies and how they mesh with the ideals and principles that the founders espoused in the U.S. Constitution...it ain't personal. Instead, the Democrats lost because they mistakenly allowed the more liberal elements of their party to gain control of their legislative agenda. Through their vote, the American people have rejected the European social-democratic model, and I, for one, am glad. Most of the best of Europe is in the past, on a plate, or in a glass...and besides, I'm still enjoying the Electric Slide.
Over the past two years, I have been amazed by those supporters of the President who have suggested, and by some who have all but said (and some just plain-old have) that we should support the President and his policies simply because he is our nation's first African -American president. Look, I am proud that our nation has moved so far and so fast away from the ugly and unfortunate racism that once existed as a cancer upon our culture and that so limited our greatness as a people and a nation. I am certain that in the future we can and will continue to work to eliminate every scintilla of racism that may still be lurking in our midst that we can. I believe that President Obama is a man that Americans of every race and creed can be proud to be represented by. He is a clearly a decent and gifted American. With that said, however, it is my/our fundamental right, in fact, my/our duty as Americans to express our disagreement with and objection to government policies that we do not feel are appropriate, effective, just, or representative of the America that each of us dreams of for ourselves and for our children. Dissent and disagreement, coalition and compromise are the things have separated us from the autocracies of the today's world, as well as those of its past. It is MORONic that we should keep up our mouths shut and just follow blindly 'cause we 'sposed to. People who do that get led into dark alleys, beat up, and robbed. That is the very mentality that the civil rights movement fought so hard to change. I voted for conservative candidates in November NOT because President Obama is black, as Rep. MORON conjectures and rationalizes, but because I disagreed with the direction that his administration's policies and Congress's legislation were taking my country...plain and simple..."straight up". Like I said, that ol' race card is a tired, predictable gambit in an old game that most people ain't even playing anymore...and like the President himself said in the SOTU address the other night, the rules of the game have changed...so to Rep. MORON, I mean Moran (who, by the way, is himself a WASP)...sir, speak for yourself not for me...oh yea, and you have a nice day.
Afterthought...I chuckled to myself the other night at a Facebook status complaining that labels (like harsh, political rhetoric) are a big part of the cycle of infighting and inertia that so dominates politics today...to me, that is a silly assertion...categories and labels are how we organize the superabundance of stuff surrounding us in our world and how we think about it. People have just become way too sensitive about nomenclature...pretty soon, we are will be reduced to talking about "this" and "that", and "him" and "her," and "it" to avoid offending every conceivable member of our audience...???...oh, and by the way, Wile E. Coyote nor Sarah Palin shot Rep. Giffords and those other poor souls in Arizona...a really messed up kid with evil in his heart and mind did...
Later...
This week, Rep. Jim Moran (D-VA...sorry, but that's his affiliation), henceforth to be known herein as MORON, in an interview with an Arab news channel, basically explained away the beating that the Democrats took in the mid-term elections in November as the by-product of "straight up" racism, as one of my absolute fave libs, Janeane Garofalo, would characterize it. First off, why do people say stuff like that in that kind of forum? To me, that's like violating the etiquette regarding criticizing one's family...we can chastise each other to each other, but you just don't crack on your family when talking to strangers...you just don't do it. I wouldn't vote for someone who did that...ever. It's been one of my problems with the President and his "apology tour" foreign policy strategy, but of course, I am probably just being a racist for objecting to his "bend over" approach to dealing with the rest of the world (of course, what it actually makes me is a patriot).
So let me get my arms around this MORON's charge...the resounding butt whoopin' that the Dems took in November occurred because white Americans don't want to be ruled by a black president? To begin with, U.S. presidents don't rule...that ain't the way this ship runs. To his assertion that one of largest defeats in modern political history was simply manifestation and proof of widespread racism among white Americans, I say, "Baloney!" (I say that only because I am striving not to ALWAYS use the exact words that I am thinking when writing). You know, I would probably never even think about President Obama being black if people like this MORON guy were not constantly reminding us that he is. Despite what I heard Geraldo Rivera (I really don't like Geraldo a lot) say to to O'Reilly the other night, I really don't know any white folks who get all racist every time they gather around the water cooler at work or throw back a couple of beers in a bar. Honestly, I see the President as an extremely bright (not necessarily an asset given that he may just think that he is smarter than everyone else...and that ain't always good) and personable guy, who clearly loves his family, who likes basketball and other sports (which gives him a bit of an "every man" flavor...and that's a good thing, I think), who seems to have a good sense of humor and a sharp wit, who enjoys having a beer, who is perhaps the most gifted orator of our time (probably got him elected), who, short of experience (seriously short, I might add), seems to possess in his toolbox all of the attributes necessary to be a gifted politician, who is clearly an idealist rather than a pragmatist (and that could work against him), and who seems to possess the ideology of a far left, progressive liberal, perhaps even those of an aspiring pseudo-European-style socialist. Certainly, most of those things are positive, but none make him a bad guy or otherwise unworthy of being president...and without a doubt, none of them have anything to do with his race.
The explanation of November's loss was not race, but instead, rhythm, or the lack thereof. After the Democrats ran the table in 2008, they interpreted their success, as politicians often mistakenly do, as a mandate from the people, as carte blanche to enact legislation actualizing the liberal agenda of the party's far left and the Progressive vision of the President. In reality, I believe that the 2008 mid-term outcome manifested two things: 1) the traditional war weariness that America always experiences as months of fighting turn into years, and 2) the emerging economic panic of a nation whose financial household appeared to be coming apart at the seams. It may have even evidenced "an inconvenient truth" (get it) of a different sort. Let's face it, though re-elected in 2004, 'W' had a cloud of inevitable doom looming over his head tracing back to his disputed "hanging chad" victory over Al "I invented the internet and discovered global warming" Gore back in 2000. I theorize that, were it not for the patriotic aftereffects and inevitable uncertainty associated with the 9/11 terror attacks and the absence of a really attractive Democratic candidate (Mr. Heinz Ketchup...really?...for those who had forgotten...and let's face it, that wouldn't be that hard to do), Bush 43 could have and perhaps would have been defeated in 2004. The bottom line regarding mid-term 2010 is that many Democrats were wrong about what 2008 meant and are just out of rhythm, out of step with the mainstream of America. The President, Nancy Pelosi, Harry Reid, and the rest of the port side of the Democratic party were trying to lead us in some kind of weird, artsy-fartsy modern dance that few of us liked or understood, while most of us average folk are still enjoying the twist, the bump, the disco shuffle, the moon walk, the robot, the soldier boy, the salsa, and crankin' it...you get my drift...my flow.... They want us to dance a dance that we are just not feeling. Their Progressive (and I do not mean moving forward and improving here) vision of social capitalism, radical transformation, redistribution of wealth, collective salvation, social justice, and globalism (one world, one love, one economy, one currency, one government) is not one that I think most Americans relate to. Yes, America, like the rest of this rapidly changing world that we live in, must move forward and keep step; after all, he who stands still is destined to get left behind. But, that does not translate into our having to turn our backs on the ideals, the virtues, the institutions, and the other traditional assets of our forefathers that made our nation great in the first place. Progress just doesn't mean or require that. When you lose sight of and touch with your roots, you lose your identity, your way, your cultural and even moral and compass. If anything, we should hearken back to those things that made us great and build our future progress upon them. The Democrats did not lose the the People's House in November because white Americans resent having a black president. I don't care if this or future PsOTUS are white, black, yellow, green, Polish-American, Latino, male, female, Hindu, Jewish, gay, etc. My support, or lack thereof, will be related to their policies and how they mesh with the ideals and principles that the founders espoused in the U.S. Constitution...it ain't personal. Instead, the Democrats lost because they mistakenly allowed the more liberal elements of their party to gain control of their legislative agenda. Through their vote, the American people have rejected the European social-democratic model, and I, for one, am glad. Most of the best of Europe is in the past, on a plate, or in a glass...and besides, I'm still enjoying the Electric Slide.
Over the past two years, I have been amazed by those supporters of the President who have suggested, and by some who have all but said (and some just plain-old have) that we should support the President and his policies simply because he is our nation's first African -American president. Look, I am proud that our nation has moved so far and so fast away from the ugly and unfortunate racism that once existed as a cancer upon our culture and that so limited our greatness as a people and a nation. I am certain that in the future we can and will continue to work to eliminate every scintilla of racism that may still be lurking in our midst that we can. I believe that President Obama is a man that Americans of every race and creed can be proud to be represented by. He is a clearly a decent and gifted American. With that said, however, it is my/our fundamental right, in fact, my/our duty as Americans to express our disagreement with and objection to government policies that we do not feel are appropriate, effective, just, or representative of the America that each of us dreams of for ourselves and for our children. Dissent and disagreement, coalition and compromise are the things have separated us from the autocracies of the today's world, as well as those of its past. It is MORONic that we should keep up our mouths shut and just follow blindly 'cause we 'sposed to. People who do that get led into dark alleys, beat up, and robbed. That is the very mentality that the civil rights movement fought so hard to change. I voted for conservative candidates in November NOT because President Obama is black, as Rep. MORON conjectures and rationalizes, but because I disagreed with the direction that his administration's policies and Congress's legislation were taking my country...plain and simple..."straight up". Like I said, that ol' race card is a tired, predictable gambit in an old game that most people ain't even playing anymore...and like the President himself said in the SOTU address the other night, the rules of the game have changed...so to Rep. MORON, I mean Moran (who, by the way, is himself a WASP)...sir, speak for yourself not for me...oh yea, and you have a nice day.
Afterthought...I chuckled to myself the other night at a Facebook status complaining that labels (like harsh, political rhetoric) are a big part of the cycle of infighting and inertia that so dominates politics today...to me, that is a silly assertion...categories and labels are how we organize the superabundance of stuff surrounding us in our world and how we think about it. People have just become way too sensitive about nomenclature...pretty soon, we are will be reduced to talking about "this" and "that", and "him" and "her," and "it" to avoid offending every conceivable member of our audience...???...oh, and by the way, Wile E. Coyote nor Sarah Palin shot Rep. Giffords and those other poor souls in Arizona...a really messed up kid with evil in his heart and mind did...
Later...
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