It is sad, isn't it, that pols, pundits and journalists are imputing violent and racist motives to the Tea Party? I partly bow in incredulity. Mostly, I bow in sorrow. I find that most of my liberal peers who propose such foolishness have proven themselves mindless automatons, robots regurgitating demonstrably false material.
Propaganda is not some lost art rooted in black-and-white photography. It's in color, 3D, and breathing -- in mechanical rhythm.
It is sad, too, that any president of the United States would suggest it is somehow wrong for a state to legally defend itself from an influx of people whose very entry into that state is criminal. I simply do not get it. Oh, yes, I get it in the most cynical way, that the current occupant of the Oval Office is guarding a political agenda, and his position in power. But in a moral and legal sense I find Mr. Obama's stance senseless.
If you were (or are) a philosopher, or a prophet, or if you are given to broad speculations, how would YOU make sense of what we see going on in America today? What is the meta-story here; what is the real ideological battle before us? This isn't just about parties; it isn't just about politics, is it? There is more going on here, no? If not, doesn't it at least FEEL like there is more going on?
Right now, I find myself resembling a Seinfeld character. Those of you familiar with that show will recall George Constanza's revelation that if he does the exact opposite of what his impulses tell him to do, he will, in effect, conquer the world. Really, the Opposite George episode is absurdly funny. My habit, however, is not to do the opposite, but to believe the opposite, at least when I hear Mr. Obama speak. If he says that his plan is to institute X, I hear that he is actually instituting not-X. If he says "we are not instituting, as some have claimed, a takeover of ...", I know the takeover is certain. If he says, "Now let me make myself perfectly clear" -- as if anyone is preventing him from being utterly pellucid -- I know that he is purposely being obfuscatory. (And I note, somewhat glibly, that Mr. Obama's habit of making himself perfectly clear proves he does indeed have super-powers.)
In other words, I have never mistrusted any president as completely as I mistrust him.
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3 comments:
I don't see why someone would deny that there there are violent elements in the tea-party movement, just as there are clearly racist individuals adhering to it. Is it the "foundation" of the movement? I doubt it, but the "foundation" is the belief that taxes have gone up... and they haven't. I don't know which is worse, the ignorance of the whole or the hate of the vile few who grab the attention of critics.
Regarding immigration, I don't know what else to say beyond "illegal how?" There wouldn't be illegal immigration if the US took steps against it, real steps, like opening the border to legal immigration in the same way that Ellis Island was open to Europeans. We didn't turn back boats full of people in NY because we didn't have immigration restrictions, and our country became immeasurably stronger and culturally rich because of it.
Eliminate restrictive waiting lists, document immigration, and you'll see the problem of illegal immigration disappear. What won't disappear is the sense of border states "losing" their state to immigrants, but I'm not aware of any way to defeat ignorance of this kind.
Ginx,
Good to hear from you.
Perhaps my hiatus has gone to my head; I think my brain is shrinking. I have no idea what you're saying. Sorry. I guess I've become a bit obtuse.
Peace.
BG
Ginx, while you are correct that (income)taxes did not go up in 2010, primarily because the budget and revenues were set two years ago, there is no question that people see an inevitable and substantial increase in taxes due to the increase in entitlement programs being instituted by this administration and congress. Indeed, it's admitted by the powers that be.
As for immigration, I'm ambivalent. My wife is an legal resident alien. She is required to carry her "green card" with her at all times, and it's been that way since in 1988 when we got married. The AZ law is not even as strict as current U.S. law. The problem is the feds won't enforce the law, because the Demos see a voting bloc and the Pubs see cheap labor. Either way, those supporting massive no-holds-barred immigration fail to acknowledge that in truth, we wind up balancing our own lifestyle choices on the backs of brown people, picking lettuce in CA.
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