Dowd on Bush, Evolution, Truth and Happy Days
Today Maureen Dowd connects a few more of the scary dots on fact, faith, and W's reckless disregard for anyone and everyone.
But some of you asked, what are we supposed to do about this gathering cloud of ignorance that is increasingly encroaching on sensible policy? I wish I knew, and I am sure there is no quick fix. But here are a few suggestions:
(1) We must never give up the business of demanding rational debate—that is, debate that involves giving and asking for reasons. (Reasons are the kinds of considerations that could be recognized as reasons by someone else who doesn't already agree with you. "Because my mother told me so" is not a reason for you to believe what I say.)
(2) We must be vigilant at all levels, and not dismiss even minor transgressions of liberties. As Michael Lynch notes, in his book True to Life, abridgement of truth and of liberties go together, and they begin with minor incursions into the truth. This is because tyrants don't care which "facts" you believe, so long as they are in control of the "facts." The issue is not whether 2+2=5, but that the "truth" is what Big Brother tells you it is. So it is correspondingly important to stand up for every tiny bit of the truth and let nothing slide.
(3) We must give money to the ACLU, ADL, and similar groups.
(4) We must make sure the courts are not politicized, so that laws like OHSB.24 are struck down as violating the 4th Amendment.
(5) Reagan conservatives and religious folks of all denominations--especially progressive Christians, I must say--have to speak up and let it be known that Dobson, Jones, Reed, Bush and their cronies do not speak for us/you. This has to be grass roots, and the conservatives have a big head start. But Howard Dean can't go to church and tell the story. And as a non-Christian, my own influence is limited. My wife's pastor repeatedly criticizes the ACLU, claiming (remarkably!) that they are against free speech because they are against prayer in schools. I've told him many times that I disagree. But I need to invite him to coffee and explain in detail why, as a non-Christian, I find this so troubling. His church is tiny, but every bit counts. I also need to talk more to my friends who attend the giant mega church down the street. For the most part, they like it because is does lots of charitable work or because it is youthful, light on theology, and serves coffee. But, though it is wrapped in pop music and fellowship, the message of this church is quite conservative and surely their money is going to the Christian Coalition. We need to take away their money. It will be hard for many folks to stop giving to and through their churches because they want to continue to support the good charitable activities of the church. Religious folks of all sorts face this problem, but it is especially acute among American Christians at the moment because of (a) the way Christianity and "Christian morality" are being used as cover for certain social policies by the right, and (b) the way charity is institutionalized in churches. Now it is time for many families--including my own--to take a good hard look at what our money is supporting. We need to speak with our wallets, making the difficult choice to change churches or to take our money out of the churches.
2 Comments:
I agree with everything you say, and will add that I see a two-pronged problem. Yes, the country is overrun with pro-"defense", gay marriage-fearing, take-us-back-to-the-50's conservatives. Their numbers are frightening. But it is also overrun with less extreme Republicans and so-called moderate Democrats who are appalled by what is going on but who do nothing at all about it. They do not contact their legislators and Congresspeople, they do not boycott targeted corporations, they do not write letters to the editor, and they do not speak out to their peers.
I meet these people in my conservative community, and they are frustrated, but they do not connect their frustration to anything that is going on in the White House. The Republicans are in, so that part is okay, but what on earth has gone wrong with my neighbors? is their general attitude.
Ignorance, of course, is at the heart of it all. It is not only ignorance that the Bush crowd is behind corporate welfare, the poisoning of the environment, and making America unsafe--it is ignorance that any of these things is taking place at all. Americans' laziness in seeking and analyzing facts about their own environment can probably be traced to our educational system. Until we teach students how to think, they will not think.
And until those of us who fight daily for economic and political justice, equal rights for all people, animal liberation, and a clean environment start assaulting the right with the word "morality" the way they assault us, we will remain one-down, always on the defensive.
No doubt about it. As cliche as it sounds, action has to begin somewhere.
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