Type and maybe I'll say something
I’m suffering from an inability lately to read and listen and say what I think about what I feel. The feel is there, the words to describe it and translate it in to coherent commentary are lacking.
So, I’ll try just typing and see if it comes to anything good.
All this race and public incivility stuff in the last month or so bugs me; but, I don’t know what to say about it.
Is the Wilson guy from South Carolina a racist? He may be; but, I can’t conclude that from his stupid outburst last week.
Are Rush Limbaugh and/or Kanye West racists or clowns based on their respective recent segregated school bus rant and interruption of Taylor Swift’s acceptance speech? My thought is that they are both; but, again I can’t prove anything.
Is Jimmy Carter getting a bit long in the tooth? Yep.
Is there racism in America? Damn right there is. Are we too often less than polite to each other? A big yes.
Does race play a part in the backlash, as reported by the media, to Obama’s initiatives? Yes, but the more important motivations for our incivility are the economic instability we are experiencing and healthy doses of fear and ennui.
The causes of the doses? Most of us just try to live our lives and we see our lives spinning out of our control.
What do our “leaders” do? Spit out sound bites. Liberal Democrats see this as their moment to go where they haven’t been able to even think about since the New Deal. Conservative Republicans having no real plan, resort to digging in and “railing against the machine.” Both poles attack the people in the middle who are trying to figure out the best thing to do.
Health care is only the current focus of our national dysfunction. The dysfunction that paralyzes us is unwillingness on our part and the people we elect to rationally analyze and attack our problems. It’s easier and more entertaining to snipe and demonize.
Until we get over our fascination with ping pong politics and media we will never solve our problems. We’ll put a band aid here and there, every few years changing political doctors for their failure to cure us.
3 comments:
I think part of the problem in politics right now is that both sides are more interested in "winning" than they are in solving problems.
The Republicans want to block health care reform, even if we need it; the Democrats want to pass health care reform, even if it's a really crappy package.
Or instead of changing from the old "hack and quack" doctors, people keep re-electing them. If you always vote for the same person and get nothing in return, what makes folks think that pol will change with time?
Every single thing that the President does and gets criticized for does not necessarily mean the person(s) giving the critique are racists but sadly, a whole hell of a lot of 'em are just that.
We do need to stop and think about the actual issue and not decide because the President is black that any and all ideas he proposes are wrong or that he shows bias towards that segment of society either.
And what the heck is wrong with his saying that Kenye West is an "a$$hole?" If the shoe fits, wear it and the president should be entitled to his own opinions and to voice them too without retaliation!
Interesting that the only ones mentioning race are the liberals. If all you have is a hammer everything looks like a nail. It is possible that there are differences in opinion about what is best for this country that do not involve racism.
If you can't win the argument on the merits its time to pull out the tired old has been Carter to flash the race card. Shame on him and all that agree.
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