"We are a movement of the plain people, very weak in the matter of culture, intellectual support, and trained leadership. We are demanding, and we expect to win, a return of power into the hands of the everyday, not highly cultured, not overly intellectualized, but entirely unspoiled and not de-Americanized, average citizen of the old stock ... " - Dr. Hiram Wesley Evans, (1881 - 1966)
If you are curious who Dr. Evans is click here.
These are the sort of arguments that I hear growing fiercer everyday. That these "salt of the earth" common folk are fed up with the highfalutin intellectuals. I have seen not one substantive idea presented by the Republican party or their Tea bagging brethren. Other than, "do nothing" , of course. What is even more unsettling is this sort of comment could have just as easily been made yesterday (listen closely to Rep. Brown (R-MA), seeking to fill that Senate seat), or last year (2008) during the Presidential election, with all its talk of "real America".
That is what I find so terrifying about Mrs. Palin's rise. She embodies the same sort of know-nothingness embodied above. The idea that if you are not like "them" then you are other, is something I find amazingly disturbing. That all that is needed is commonsense and a faith in God (mind you the Christian God), to understand all the complexities of the world.
I am sorry but this stuff scares me. Diplomacy is hard. Economics is hard. Science is hard. Commonsense is all fine and good, but in my experience it is not all that common and very often what may sound sensical to an individual is disastrous for a large group or nation (e.g The Paradox of Thrift). Most people could not even explain how their televisions work, but that doesn't stop them from making asinine comments on things that are even more complex.
I will stop here, before I get into the racial aspects of this dynamic as well. But suffice to say I agree whole-heartedly with Mr. Sullivan's colleague, at the Atlantic, Mr. Coates when illustrates how the GOP just doesn't seem to get it:
Leaving aside political cynicism, this entire affair proves that the GOP is not simply still infected with the vestiges of white supremacy and racism, but is neither aware of the infection, nor understands the disease. Listening to Liz Cheney explain why Harry Reid's comments were racist, was like listening to me give lessons on the finer points of the comma splice. This a party, rightly or wrongly, regarded by significant portions of the country as a haven for racists. They aren't simply having a hard time re-branding, they don't actually understand how and why they got the tag.
These guys are lost. But Michael Steele's "off the hook" strategy will, presumably, point the way back. Not for nothing, I offer the wise and venerable words of my people: Negro, please.
-Cheers
2 comments:
Now, now.. Faith, commonsense, and a distrust of intellectuals and their doings is a fine way to live.
Presuming, that is, like in 1850 (before all those scientists and their evil technology took over everything), you didnt expect to live much beyond 38 years and thought a 1-in-5 chance of dying at birth was pretty good.
Which *would*, I must admit, solve a great number of problems...
Heh, there you have it. I know bashing intellectuals is a time honored tradition. But this shit gets old.
Post a Comment