Still, among the throngs were decent people who genuinely fear that government is overstepping its boundaries when it goes from simply protecting American rights to promoting equal rights. And they consider themselves to be self-made men (and women), who take personal responsibility for their destinies, obey the laws of the land, and pay their fair share of taxes, contribute to social causes. As one friend who attended the rally explained, many are tired of being "demonized ... for being successful."
To the last group of 9/12 rally attendees, I take off my hat for all their good works, and I would defend to my death their First and Second Amendment rights as long theirs do not infringe on the rights of others. True conservatives always will be part of the greatness of American, and I do not want my right-of-center friends maligned. I do wish that someone besides Pat Buchanan and George Will, who unsettlingly have become the voices of sanity for the conservative movement, would call out extremist groups who are using the election of a biracial, left-of-center president to prey on the fears of law-abiding, God-fearing citizens.
By right-wing extremists, I refer to the Oklahoma City bomber Timothy McVeys, who would murder innocent civilians including children for "The Cause." Then there's the new and improved Ku Klux Klan whose history of murder and violence toward non-whites and non-Protestants is renowned but whose web page identifies its goals as promoting "free speech" and "cultural awareness." Of course, somewhere in the mix we can't forget the American Nazi Party, which expounds on its web page: "If you are tired of being blamed for all the world's problems - simply because you are White. If you are fed up with a government that is more concerned about everyone and everything on this planet - EXCEPT the well-being of the people who FOUNDED and BUILT America - the WHITE WORKING CLASS population, and are intelligent and clear-sighted enough to see REALITY when it stares you in the face - JOIN WITH US."
It is not surprising that the masses confuse Nazis, which are associated with murderer extraordinaire Adolf Hitler who slaughtered millions of Jews and others in the name of racial purification, with socialists. The confusion with socialism, which espouses government-run entities to equally distribute wealth to all classes and races, occurs by design because the American Nazi Party refers to itself as American National Socialists. However, socialism is on the opposite end of the political spectrum if for no other reason than the ideology is not for whites-only, and there are plenty of differences with communism as well.
Even if Fox Noise commentator Glenn Beck makes no distinction, socialists are far cry from Russian communists associated with murderer extraordinaire Josef Stalin who slaughtered millions of Jews and others in the name of political purification. Hitler and Stalin share mainly the commonality of being murderous dictators, but their philosophies are like oil and vinegar. And yes, the Communist Party USA, the real Socialist Party USA, and the Socialist Workers Party still exist and are on the left. Yet those parties took big power hits with the fall of the USSR and, thus, are unlikely threats to the American way except in the minds of paranoid commentators and bloggers.
For the sake of my right-of-center friends, I'd like to clarify what the commentators don't. Nazism (capital letter lest we forget the Holocaust) and neo-Nazism, conservatism, and neoconservatism are on the right of the political continuum. Marxism (named after Karl, not Groucho), communism, socialism, liberalism and neoliberalism are left of center. Am I saying that conservatives or neoconservatives are even close to their right-wing brethren in their ideology? Of course not.
By the same token, the much-maligned liberals are just as far a cry from Marxists, socialists, and communists. In fact, under the definitions of liberalism in the Merriam-Webster OnLine dictionary is: "2 a (often capitalized) a movement in modern Protestantism emphasizing intellectual liberty and the spiritual and ethical content of Christianity; b: a theory in economics emphasizing individual freedom from restraint and usually based on free competition, the self-regulating market, and the gold standard; c: a political philosophy based on belief in progress, the essential goodness of the human race, and the autonomy of the individual and standing for the protection of political and civil liberties..."
Are liberals really Satan incarnate? Of course not. Unlike what the Becks, Limbaughs, Malkins, Coulters and Palins of the world will tell you, no one concerned about the issues of our day are necessarily stupid, uninformed, or un-Godly. Some are unnecessarily rude, stretch or annihilate the truth, and at least one recent vice presidential candidate, who will go unnamed, may come from another planet, but I digress....
The purpose of this new blog is to discuss current issues and differences in a civil and educated way -- if at all possible. To do so, let's set a few basic ground rules for future discussions and responses:
- Keep a sense of humor.
- No name-calling.
- Before labeling, know what your labels mean. This rule is engraved in stone. I don't want a single responder who hasn't gone to the nearest dictionary -- for example, www.merriam-webster.com -- to look up 10 definitions: (1) Nazism (a capital letter lest we forget the Holcaust), (2) neo-Nazism, (3) Marxism, (4) communism, (5) socialism, (6) capitalism, (7) liberalism, (8) conservatism, (9) neoconservatism, and (10) neoliberalism.
- Never use the terms Republicans and Democrats. Both are way too archaic for modern discourse. Moderate Republicans are rare birds these days. Liberal Republicans are extinct. The same holds for the somewhat broader Democratic Party, where the Blue Dogs are the liberal Republicans of yesteryear, the Yellow Dogs are now the moderates, and liberals/progressives are about to exit en masse to become non-party independents. (Kind of reminds me of the 1960s and early 1970s when it just wasn't cool to belong to a fraternity or sorority.)
- Liberalism nor conservatism is a four-letter word.
- President Barack Obama's name is not listed under any definition of the 10 philosophical labels.
- Neither President Obama's nor President George W. Bush's name is listed under Satan or evil or the Axis of Evil.
- Assume Capitalism remains and will remain alive and well in America for generations.
- Civil war is unlikely and unnecessary -- if we settle down and stop listening to extremist commentators. As Los Angeles celebrity Rodney King once said, "Can't we all just get along?"
- Admit that America has some socialist programs that people appreciate: Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security.
- Health-care reform may have a socialist bent, but that doesn't mean it isn't necessary or that the government is on your doorstep. (In my humble opinion, that was a stronger possibility when the government was wiretapping!)
- Just a teensy-weensy chance of a government takeover exists, and then only if terrorism strikes from the inside or the outside.
- Helping each other is as American as God, mother, and apple pie. It's not that we disagree on "the what." It's that we disagree on "the how."
That means everyone -- even liberals and conservatives!
Nancy: Thanks for creating your blog. I love your first entry. Keep it up!
ReplyDeleteJim Lewis