Call a spade a spade
I talk a lot about politics because I love this country, and because I believe that an engaged and informed citizenry is one of the most important things we can have to ensure our future. Because of this, I find the current state of political discourse in this country alarming.
I caught some flak from friends on facebook a few weeks back when I stated that the GOP leadership hates black people. True, I was guilty of a lack of civility myself in making such a comment, but that general sentiment is supported by a growing mountain of evidence: voter ID laws, mandatory minimums, drug testing welfare recipients, refusal to raise the minimum wage (when even Wal-Mart has now done so). "But those laws don't target black people!" Actually, they do, but you either already knew that because you look into the issues, or you listen to Faux News in which case a freight train of truth wouldn't change your mind from what Hannity & O'Reily tell you to think of as reality.
This week, the broader political conversation took a turn for the worse when Donald Trump failed to correct a town hall questioner who made two false statements about the President and then went on to say that Muslims are one of the problems that America faces today. If you're at the podium when someone says things like that, you correct them, I don't care if the setting is the international pure-bred poodle convention, because that's called intolerance and it's unamerican regardless of your political affiliation. Let's list some countries where cultural and religious intolerance existed: Nazi Germany, Iran, North Korea, As much as I don't like Chris Christie, I will give him credit for calling Trump out on this.
A couple days later, another GOP candidate, Ben Carson, was quoted as saying that we should not have a Muslim President. He said it's inconsistent with the Constitution. Yet the Constitution clearly states that there can be no religious requirements to hold public office. Also, that's yet again an intolerant, ignorant position to take. No one called him out. No one from GOP HQ said "hey, quit calling yourself a Republican, those aren't our values, we respect all faiths."
Then there's the "kick 'em out and build a wall" rhetoric around immigration. That IS unacceptable, yet the GOP candidates try to out-do each other with xenophobic comments. Scott Walker even suggested building a wall with Canada. CANADA!
If you don't like other religions, other cultures, other races, that's your choice. Contrary to the most common GOP rebuttal, no one is trying to force everyone to like everyone else, that would be silly. If you think Muslims and Mexicans and "the gays" are what's wrong with this country, then you're woefully ignorant, but you are still entitled to your opinion. But for a major political party to accept, tolerate, and even promote that kind of thinking is a national shame. If you're a Republican and you're not speaking out about this craziness, then, like it or not, you're part of the problem. I am a Republican at heart who will continue to operate as an independent until the GOP returns to its senses. The GOP candidates are spreading messages of intolerance, ultra-nationalism and xenophobia, and those are not representative of my values.
- At some point it became "impolite" to talk about politics. Our founding fathers would be furious at this, because it's the ability to freely talk politics that separates us from fascist, totalitarian regimes.
- The media is a circus, and we can't wait for the next act. Good journalism is nearly impossible to find. The republican debate last week was more like Wrestlemania than a proper political debate.
- Ignorance has become fashionable. Don't understand the issues? Don't care for science? No time to actually research a topic? Can't be bothered to know US History? Welcome to American politics in 2015 where you'll fit right in!
I caught some flak from friends on facebook a few weeks back when I stated that the GOP leadership hates black people. True, I was guilty of a lack of civility myself in making such a comment, but that general sentiment is supported by a growing mountain of evidence: voter ID laws, mandatory minimums, drug testing welfare recipients, refusal to raise the minimum wage (when even Wal-Mart has now done so). "But those laws don't target black people!" Actually, they do, but you either already knew that because you look into the issues, or you listen to Faux News in which case a freight train of truth wouldn't change your mind from what Hannity & O'Reily tell you to think of as reality.
This week, the broader political conversation took a turn for the worse when Donald Trump failed to correct a town hall questioner who made two false statements about the President and then went on to say that Muslims are one of the problems that America faces today. If you're at the podium when someone says things like that, you correct them, I don't care if the setting is the international pure-bred poodle convention, because that's called intolerance and it's unamerican regardless of your political affiliation. Let's list some countries where cultural and religious intolerance existed: Nazi Germany, Iran, North Korea, As much as I don't like Chris Christie, I will give him credit for calling Trump out on this.
A couple days later, another GOP candidate, Ben Carson, was quoted as saying that we should not have a Muslim President. He said it's inconsistent with the Constitution. Yet the Constitution clearly states that there can be no religious requirements to hold public office. Also, that's yet again an intolerant, ignorant position to take. No one called him out. No one from GOP HQ said "hey, quit calling yourself a Republican, those aren't our values, we respect all faiths."
Then there's the "kick 'em out and build a wall" rhetoric around immigration. That IS unacceptable, yet the GOP candidates try to out-do each other with xenophobic comments. Scott Walker even suggested building a wall with Canada. CANADA!
If you don't like other religions, other cultures, other races, that's your choice. Contrary to the most common GOP rebuttal, no one is trying to force everyone to like everyone else, that would be silly. If you think Muslims and Mexicans and "the gays" are what's wrong with this country, then you're woefully ignorant, but you are still entitled to your opinion. But for a major political party to accept, tolerate, and even promote that kind of thinking is a national shame. If you're a Republican and you're not speaking out about this craziness, then, like it or not, you're part of the problem. I am a Republican at heart who will continue to operate as an independent until the GOP returns to its senses. The GOP candidates are spreading messages of intolerance, ultra-nationalism and xenophobia, and those are not representative of my values.
Comments
Post a Comment