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Politics and the American Language
Nov. 12th, 2004 12:15 amThree or four more overheard tidbits in today from the local “conservatives” such as: “What those liberals are going to have to realize is how we’re going to..” and “These people are appeasers and immoral and don’t belong here; they need to take the next plane to France” and my favorite “The real problem is in the universities. We need to shut those guys down while we have the chance”.
I grew up in the 1970s, the decade of divorce. Of course in Orange County we were token liberals in a sea of conservative Republicans, but the odd part was this. Of my school friends growing up, maybe three fourths of them had divorced parents. And said divorced parents were heavily into the disco scene, the coke, the quaaludes, the adultery, and probably the whole wife-swapping open-marriage disaster too. It was messed up, especially for the kids who were supposed to pretend that everything was cool when an alarming amount of “adult” crap was being dumped on them.
Meanwhile my parents had a forty plus year marriage of love without cheating, drug abuse, orgies, swinger parties, conspicuous consumption, or even disco music. They had a glass of wine with dinner. Their lives were dedicated to their children, each other, and their professions. My father taught at universities for 40 years and worked his ass off at it. My mother taught preschool. They raised both of us to be law-abiding, respectful, productive, and tolerant.
However, I can now see where they went wrong. In my family we were taught that the weak deserved protection from the strong, and that the wealthy had an obligation to share with the poor. We were taught that religious freedom was an American value and that we kept the church and state separate so that all could worship in peace. We were also raised to be suspicious of wars and war leaders; to take pronouncements from wealthy businessmen with a grain of salt; to pay careful attention to our government and be citizen watchdogs against any erosion of our liberty; and to respect the opinions of others and build consensus whenever possible.
Apparently that’s the real problem! Strong family values, hard work, and a critical but moderate liberal attitude toward government are the new Communism. The triumphant blowhards whose Talk Radio Nation won a narrow electoral victory are mopping up, and can’t quite decide whether imprisonment, deportation, or mere disenfranchisement is enough of a punishment for my failure to conform to the new Statethink.
I went home and cleaned my guns tonight.
I grew up in the 1970s, the decade of divorce. Of course in Orange County we were token liberals in a sea of conservative Republicans, but the odd part was this. Of my school friends growing up, maybe three fourths of them had divorced parents. And said divorced parents were heavily into the disco scene, the coke, the quaaludes, the adultery, and probably the whole wife-swapping open-marriage disaster too. It was messed up, especially for the kids who were supposed to pretend that everything was cool when an alarming amount of “adult” crap was being dumped on them.
Meanwhile my parents had a forty plus year marriage of love without cheating, drug abuse, orgies, swinger parties, conspicuous consumption, or even disco music. They had a glass of wine with dinner. Their lives were dedicated to their children, each other, and their professions. My father taught at universities for 40 years and worked his ass off at it. My mother taught preschool. They raised both of us to be law-abiding, respectful, productive, and tolerant.
However, I can now see where they went wrong. In my family we were taught that the weak deserved protection from the strong, and that the wealthy had an obligation to share with the poor. We were taught that religious freedom was an American value and that we kept the church and state separate so that all could worship in peace. We were also raised to be suspicious of wars and war leaders; to take pronouncements from wealthy businessmen with a grain of salt; to pay careful attention to our government and be citizen watchdogs against any erosion of our liberty; and to respect the opinions of others and build consensus whenever possible.
Apparently that’s the real problem! Strong family values, hard work, and a critical but moderate liberal attitude toward government are the new Communism. The triumphant blowhards whose Talk Radio Nation won a narrow electoral victory are mopping up, and can’t quite decide whether imprisonment, deportation, or mere disenfranchisement is enough of a punishment for my failure to conform to the new Statethink.
I went home and cleaned my guns tonight.
