W can pick from the right,
and be left with a liberal |
|
| As the debate over Sandra Day O'Connor's Supreme Court replacement heats up, it seems to me that the question of ideology as it arrives from either the right or the left is always in conflict with the complexity of human nature as we have seen it played out in the modern era of the Supreme Court. Once a person who seemed very predictable becomes a Supreme Court justice, anything can happen. A former klansman like Hugo Black can become a startlingly liberal justice, supporting civil rights and other things one would not expect from a man who threw his lot in with ruthless redneck terrorists. Lyndon Johnson began as a segregationist but ended up the greatest legislator of civil rights since Abraham Lincoln. I think such surprises should be expected in our country, and it is a good thing that we can no longer stereotype any group and assume automatic allegiance when it comes to matters of individual choice. The sooner both the right and the left can endure the idea of human complexity, the finer our arguments will be and the richer we will become as the result of debates that are defined by high quality ideas as opposed to name-calling. But in our progressively contentious era, it does not matter which side is arguing because one can easily be dehumanized if he or she supports positions opposed to a given group's ideology. Whether or not Clarence Thomas' decisions are good or bad, liberals would say his great sin is that he is, first, a Republican and second a conservative. It seems that a black person can only be true and human if his decisions are in line with the kind that Jesse Jackson would make. It is no different on the other side. If a black person makes conservative decisions or tends to align himself with conservatives, those on the right will say, "Now there's a black man who thinks for himself." The point, obviously, is that those black people who think differently have been programmed like windup dummies to crank out an ideology that they have never given any thought to, preferring to follow orders dropped from the liberal gods above. Both positions are hogwash, and we should by now know that no one of any ethnic groups or religion is automatically going to think or feel a certain way.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Stanley Crouch is a columnist, novelist, essayist, critic and television commentator. He has served since 1987 as an artistic consultant at Lincoln Center and is a co-founder of the department known as Jazz at Lincoln Center. In 1993, he received both the Jean Stein Award from the American Academy of Arts and Letters and a MacArthur Foundation grant. He is now working on a biography of Charlie Parker. |
Labels: politics, Truth
1.
Cobb Came across this while doing some quick research on Thomas Sowell, before I finally decided to buy his book,
Black Rednecks, and White Liberals. Good book, by the way. I'll write more about it later on. Cobb's blog is at the top of my list at the moment. Like many, he touches on many subjects, but he's almost always a joy to read, except for his comics, which I don't enjoy so much.
2.
GarageSpin A site devoted to music technology and industry news as it relates to independant/amateur musicians like myself.
3.
James D. Hudnall I think I found this site looking for back issues of Demon Warrior (a Korean series from the 80's) or Blood Sword Dynasty. I ended up on an old forum page in which he was discussing one of the above titles or something like them. Then I remembered he was the author of Espers, and that I needed trade paperbacks for volume two onward, so I followed the link to his site. When I got to his blog (out of curiousity), I found that one of my favorite comicbook writers from the late eighties (or whenever) was a bit of a right wing nut. Still, he's interesting to read and I don't always disagree with him. Further reading has softened my opinion. When I came upon the blog it was still election season.
I still haven't ordered those trades, but I will.
Also through this site, I found a cool
pro gun site. Another budding interest of mine.
4.
Daily Kos Lately I've embraced quite a few "conservative" beliefs in addition to some I've previously held. I still consider myself a liberal, though, and this is where I keep in touch with my inner lefty.
5.
Creative Commons A news site related to the
Creative Commons copyright licence. Something I find of interest as a creator.
Labels: blogs
From DailyKos.com
How the Islamic crazies are like the Right
Mon Jul 4th, 2005 at 23:47:07 PDT
Funny how the wingers try to claim American liberals are in league with crazy fundamentalist Muslims.
Reality is, we hate everything Islamic fundamentalism stands for. On the other hand, the Dobson's of the Republican Party -- you know, the people running the show -- have far more in common with the enemy than they'd ever like to admit.
Religion in government
Al Qaida/Taliban: One and the same
American Taliban: One and the same
Liberals: Separation of church and state
Schools
Al Qaida/Taliban: Religious indoctrination. Run by clergy.
American Taliban: School prayer. Religious indoctrination (creationism and "intelligent design"). Private religious school system.
Liberals: Leave religious teachings to parents and sunday school.
Women
Al Qaida/Taliban: No school, must cover entire body, no rights
American Taliban: Government control over reproductive freedoms, hostility to Title IX, hostility to working women
Liberals: Equality of the sexes
Religious freedom
Al Qaida/Taliban: 'Think like us, or we'll whiip you and/or chop off your head'
American Taliban: 'Think like us, or we'll condemn you to hell'
Liberals: To each her own
Homosexuality
Al Qaida/Taliban: Eradicate them from society
American Taliban: Eradicate them from society
Liberals: Equality under the law
You guys can take it from here.
Update (from the comments):
Torture
Al Qaida/Taliban: Torture them or chop off their heads
American Taliban: Torture them or homosexually rape them.
Liberals: No torture
Medicine and Science
Al Qaida/Taliban: Faith-based world view
American Taliban: Faith-based world view
Liberals: Reality-based community
and part two
They are more like our enemy, Part II
Tue Jul 5th, 2005 at 12:56:25 PDT
Last night I wrote "How the Islamic crazies are like the Right" to hammer home how fundamentalist Islam has more in common with the radical religious right, the American Taliban, than it does with the American Left.
This is a key point-- it was easier for the Right to tie the American Left with our previous boogeyman, the communists, since we technically were nearer to the extreme left than where conservatives.
But today, things look quite different. I started the ball rolling on similarities on that previous post. Here are more similarities, as submitted by readers:
Foreign Policy
Al Qaida/Taliban: World domination - do it our way or we attack
American Taliban: World domination - do it our way or we attack
Liberals: Peace and international cooperation
Executing Minors
Al Qaida/Taliban: Executing Minors OK
American Taliban: Executing Minors OK
Liberals: Find this to be a barbaric and embarrassing practice
Pop Culture
Al Qaida/Taliban: Hate it... kill it
American Taliban: Hate it... ban it
Liberals: Laugh at it... boycott it
Self-image
Al Qaida/Taliban: Belief in their own infallibility
American Taliban: Belief in their own infallibility
Liberals: Willingness to consider other viewpoints
God
Al Qaida/Taliban: God is on our side and will help us kill our enemies
American Taliban: God is on our side and will help us kill our enemies
Liberals: God may or may not exist and will not help us kill anyone
Stem Cell Research
Al Qaida/Taliban: No Stem cell research
American Taliban: No Stem cell research
Liberals: Stem cell research
Leaders
Al Qaida/Taliban: God choose Osama Bin Laden to defeat the Great Satan
American Taliban: God choose George W. Bush to lead us
Liberals: God didn't choose anyone
Use of Force
Al Qaida/Taliban: As a means of propagating a world view
American Taliban: As a means of propagating a world view
Liberals: As a last resort
Bush's War in Iraq
Al Qaida/Taliban: Love it!
American Taliban: Love it!
Liberals: It's a disaster
Press
Al Qaida/Taliban: Control of the Press
American Taliban: Manipulation of the Press
Liberals: Freedom of the Press
Free Speech
Al Qaida/Taliban: Anyone who disagrees with us is an infidel and must be silenced
American Taliban: Anyone who disagrees with us is a traitor and must be silenced
Liberals: Anyone who disagrees with us is in for a spirited discussion
Individuals
Al Qaida/Taliban: Conform or else
American Taliban: Conform or else
Liberals: Embrace diversity
Cooperation
Al Qaida/Taliban: You're either with us or against us
American Taliban: You're either with us or against us
Liberals: We're all in this together
Tolerance
Al Qaida/Taliban: Death to the infidels
American Taliban: Kill their leaders and convert them to Christianity
Liberals: Live and let live
Conscience
Al Qaida/Taliban: Obedience to authority
American Taliban: Obedience to authority
Liberals: Critical reflection
Origins
Al Qaida/Taliban: Universe and man created 6,000 years ago by God
American Taliban: Universe and man created 6,000 years ago by God
Liberals: The Universe began as we know it at least 14 billion years ago, maybe more
Leaders
Al Qaida/Taliban: Subservient to will of its leaders
American Taliban: Subservient to will of its leaders
Liberals: Will served by Representative government
Fear
Al Qaida/Taliban: Life is scary and uncertain, seek refuge in moral absolutes and scorn those that threaten those absolutes
American Taliban: Life is scary and uncertain, seek refuge in moral absolutes and scorn those that threaten those absolutes
Liberals: Life is scary and uncertain, seek refuge in accepting that respect for our fellow man and the individual choices he/she makes is eminently moral
Women
Al Qaida/Taliban: A woman's place is in the home
American Taliban: A woman's place is in the home
Liberals: A woman's place is wherever she wants it to be
Marriage
Al Qaida/Taliban: Marriage is only between a man and a woman
American Taliban: Marriage is only between a man and a woman
Liberals: Marriage is between any two people who love each other
We could keep this up all day, I suspect. Remember, the point isn't that the American Taliban is just like Al Qaida (though given the chance...), the point is that there's no reason that liberals would ever "root" for Al Qaida or the Taliban or any of the crazies in the Islamic fundamentalist world.
The reasons we hate the American Taliban are the same reasons we hate fundamentalists of all stripes -- they seek to impose their own moral code on the rest of society, and do so with the zeal and moral absolutism possible only from those who believe they are doing "God's work".
Labels: civil rights, funny-ass shit, Islam, politics, religion, terrorism, Truth