Howdy folks!
I'm stepping out of character tonight; I ususally write relatively fluffy things, but I've had a rant brewing in my head for several days now, and I figure this is as good a time and place as any. I realize that many others have spoken out on the same issues, perhaps better than I can, but here are my two cents, for what they're worth. I beg your indulgence.
I was raised by Eisenhower Republicans. My parents taught me personal responsibility and the value of hard work. They taught me to treat others with kindness and respect, and to be honest and fair in my dealings. They taught me to love my country and believe in its promises of freedom and equality -- that whatever its imperfections, ours was the best system of government in the world.
Such an upbringing did not prepare me to cope with the barrage of ugliness, irrationality and willful ignorance currently in circulation in American society, of which the current kerfuffle over the so-called Ground Zero Mosque is just the latest example.
When I was around ten years old, my dad overheard my sister and me using an ignorant slur while talking about some Mexican kids we had passed on the street. "Don't ever let me catch you saying anything like that again," he said. I never forgot that moment, and I never wanted to say those ugly words again, whether I thought he would catch me or not.
I can't swear that my folks were free from any and all prejudice, or that they didn't oversubscribe to certain stereotypes based on race or ethnicity. But they did not tolerate racist talk in their home, and for that I'm grateful.
My parents were devout Christians; my mother even worked at our church for many years, as the office administrator (I spent a lot of after-school hours hanging around the church, and started playing piano and organ for services at the tender age of twelve). Yet they didn't find it necessary to bad-mouth people of other faiths. They would admit, if pressed, that they disagreed with beliefs that differed from their own, and that they believed their religion came closest to the "truth." But they simply wanted to practice their faith in peace, and had no desire to interfere with others' right to do the same.
In short, they taught me to be nice to people. And though they never said it outright, I absorbed the message that if I was nice to others, they would be nice to me. (I continue, in my foolhardiness, to believe that and act as if it were true, despite copious evidence to the contrary.) I also inferred from their example, though no one saw a need to state it explicitly, that intelligence is something to be valued, and ignorance is not something to be embraced.
As a result, I am gobsmacked by the way criticism has been conflated with censorship (e.g. Carrie Prejean, Dr. Laura, et al). I don't see how anyone who graduated high school could fail to understand why civil rights are not subject to majority approval. I lament that so many people who are able to vote and drive cars so thoroughly misunderstand the function of the judiciary branch of our government. And I cannot wrap my head around the level of self-delusion and narcissism that enables a person to see a threat to their religious freedom in the mere existence of someone of a different faith, hoping simply to exercise that same freedom.
It's painful to contemplate, now that I'm all growed up, that these wholesome, sensible, Golden-Rule-based values I was raised with in are, in fact, not shared by a large swath of my fellow Americans. (It particularly galls me that many of these folks claim to follow my homeboy J.C., even as they make a mockery of everything he taught, in my estimation.) I feel ill-equipped to navigate reality when the road map I was given appears to be so hopelessly out of date. I always thought my parents had done an admirable job with the moral compass they bequeathed me, but now I'm beginning to feel like they screwed me up big-time!
I've lived a sheltered life – I admit it. The values my parents instilled in me as I grew up seem hopelessly outmoded, idealistic and naïve given the way the world works today. Nevertheless, stubborn little idealist that I am, I still believe in them. I know I have to face the dispiriting possibility that what my parents taught me about our country's greatness has never really been true. But Goddammit, it should be.
Plenty of pundits and politicians will pay lip service to the idea that the United States of America is the greatest country in the world. I would like to ask them, when are we Americans going to start acting like it?
And now, a word from our sponsor:
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From grannycarol:
This exchange between The Red Phone is Ringing and Derfel8 commenting in And An Entertainer Shall Lead Them needs recognition.
From JanF:
In Thursday's Morning Feature's Tuna Can, CDH in Brooklyn discusses going to DC for the "Beck-o-rama" counter demonstration (carrying a "God Hates Hate" sign?) and The Raven adds this new phrase: "chaperoning a twittering of Teabaggers would demand greater forbearance than I possess."
(And in a second email... - Ed.)I should have known better than to send in my nomination without waiting for DBunn to weigh in on this morning's Morning Feature. In a reply to LI Mike, who has been asked to be on a brunch panel where the topic is "Why Are We Democrats?", DBunn pens (taps out?) this brilliant oration.
From Land of Enchantment:
kayakbiker lets fly a witty zinger at Alan Simpson.
From trashablanca:
renzo capetti shines in this song parody: ode to jotter.
From Interceptor7
Hai top comments! I had to submit this comment from jwinIL14 in dhonig's rec list diary today.
From i like bbq
dkmich on the Fox News positive spin.
From RiaD:
The best comment I saw today, by BeninSC.
From bronte17:
ivorybill makes a rare appearance to post a very informative diary Afghanistan Onion: Comedy and Tragedy in Afghan Press and dorkenergy highlights the finer points of this most excellent diary.
I'm glad we had such an abundance of submissions today, as I was too busy frothing at the mouth to find any myself! ;)
Ed Tracey brings Top Mojo!
Top Mojo - (cskendrick/sardonyx-style)
excluding search-identifiable tip jars, first diary comments, Cheers and Jeers
and (alas) ... da pooties:
1) Best diary I've read in a long time! by Sarge in Seattle — 124
2) Quite a contrast to Sherrod. by goinsouth — 120
3) It's Too Late by bink — 113
4) Bink is not a random by TomP — 110
5) Never gonna happen by dricey — 108
6) I Know I Haven't Been Around Here for Long by bink — 103
7) Apologies in advance for any typos by exmearden — 100
8) Having worked on Madison Ave by jsfox — 99
9) What should Bob have said? We... by Meteor Blades — 98
10) You mean this one? by Brubs — 97
11) Here's wishing you a continued speedy recovery. by marleycat — 94
12) So sez userid 261872 to userid 642 by Scarce — 91
13) Then tell us why he constructed this thing by profh — 90
14) So would it be insulting to call the by ontheleftcoast — 90
15) See bink's comment above and use Occam's Razor by RFK Lives — 88
16) I've been unable to think about by Crashing Vor — 87
17) Simpson's name gets added to a long, dismal list: by nailbender — 86
18) I was having a conversation with a friend by Steveningen — 86
19) The reason is the WH preference for inside deals by RFK Lives — 85
20) Remember, the same people who write ads like this by david78209 — 85
21) Um... by aztecraingod — 85
22) Like hell by o the umanity — 80
23) Yep, cause we're too stupid by dkmich — 77
24) How bad does it have to get.... by 57andFemale — 77
25) The more I drill down on exploding costs by nyceve — 77
26) And his opposition to privatizing it has by JesseCW — 76
27) It's already done its by TomP — 72
28) And, frankly, the next fucker who by JesseCW — 72
29) He Did "Come Out" by JekyllnHyde — 72
30) define destroy? by dkmich — 71
31) I almost agree, however canning Simpson was a by chrississippi — 71
=============== Top Mojo with No Exclusions:
1) Tip Jar by dhonig — 624
2) Tip Jar by exmearden — 577
3) Wrong Policy at the Wrong Time by bink — 398
4) Tip Jar by wilbur — 309
5) Tip Jar by nyceve — 200
6) Tip Jar by paradox — 199
7) Tip Jar by jpmassar — 179
8) Tip Jar by bobswern — 175
9) Tip Jar by Barbara Boxer — 174
10) Tips for seeking solutions ... :) by NCrissieB — 172
11) Tips for the Moms and Dads by Clarknt67 — 152
12) Tip Jar by LaFeminista — 149
13) Tip Jar by Brainwrap — 132
14) Tip Jar by teacherken — 124
15) Best diary I've read in a long time! by Sarge in Seattle — 124
16) Quite a contrast to Sherrod. by goinsouth — 120
17) It's Too Late by bink — 113
18) Bink is not a random by TomP — 110
19) Tip Jar by Ojibwa — 110
20) Never gonna happen by dricey — 108
21) I Know I Haven't Been Around Here for Long by bink — 103
22) Tip Jar by Jack Conway for Senate — 100
23) Apologies in advance for any typos by exmearden — 100
24) Having worked on Madison Ave by jsfox — 99
25) What should Bob have said? We... by Meteor Blades — 98
26) You mean this one? by Brubs — 97
27) Here's wishing you a continued speedy recovery. by marleycat — 94
28) So sez userid 261872 to userid 642 by Scarce — 91
29) Then tell us why he constructed this thing by profh — 90
30) So would it be insulting to call the by ontheleftcoast — 90