Friday, August 20, 2010

Conservative Mind Invasion

The blogosphere is heated up with much rhetoric about the political climate that exists currently in the country. Having a debate over a mosque, community center or whatever it truly is has taken over the discourse when we should be focusing our energy on getting citizens back to work, finding ways to ensure that all can afford homes and get a good education. Those things among many others I hope and am sure we can agree on, whether Democratic, Republican, Moderate or Conservative. Did you know that the United States is now ranked 13th in the world in the number of it’s citizens who earn college degrees? The cost of what we get is high and higher still if we are not educated. All of these daily conversations and new so-called controversies named by the media don’t help anyone achieve their version of the American Dream. If I had to start my own version of a “Tea Party”, I would want the Government to work on real solutions to real problems such as joblessness, lacking resources for education and improving the public health infrastructure. These are the REAL issues facing REAL Americans Gov. Palin, not where a religious building should go, thus terrorizing a group due to the horrendous actions of a small segment. Remember, this is a War on Terror, not Islam!

I don’t envy President Obama not one bit, he has a hard job and despite all of the ups and downs I think he has done an average job. I say that not because of what he has done but because of what he should have not done or stayed out of an example, the Beer Summit. The question that was posed to him about it I think was a bit of a setup but it was asked during a nationally televised press conference. In retrospect, he is probably thinking he should have gracefully answered but not answered and left it at that. Racially charged issues have been a bit of an Achilles heel for this White House and for good reason. If you answer, the Right says your being too sensitive. If you don’t the “black leaders” accuse you of being too laid back on issues of race. Sometimes, the best answer especially for someone in his position is not to answer at all and let the chips fall where they may.

I know that come November, the landscape in Washington will change but will it be a small change or a drastic one? That depends on who you ask. Ultraconservatives and Tea partiers (maybe they are one in the same) are screaming from the rooftops and to anyone who will listen will tell you that the day of reckoning is coming for the President and the Democrats. On the flip, Liberals will tell you that all is well, there is nothing to see here and we will keep on a steady course. I am not sure I can agree with either side but if I had to pick a side that had a modicum of sense, I would go with the liberals. Common sense and inclusion seems to be a weakness of Conservatives, it feels like on a weekly basis there is some new story about how someone on the Right has made some ridiculous statement to offend Muslims, Blacks, Native Americans and Hispanics. As of right now, it appears that a favorite target of the Right, the Gay Community isn’t getting too much flak but with the Prop 8 activity ongoing in California, the Hatefest will continue to have more momentum.

With all of that said, I want to get into the head of a Conservative. I really want to know, seriously, What the FUCK??!! I said that with some jest but one among them has to know that some of this stuff that comes out of the mouth of Michelle Bachmann, Sarah Palin, Louie Gohmert and the cast of other stellar GOPers is some of the most ridiculous shit ever said. How can anyone take Newt Gingrich seriously? On one had he talks about conservative values and has cheated on all his wives to date? That’s like taking ethics classes from Charles Keating, the shit don’t match. Michelle Bachmann is absolutely BAT SHIT and I have talked so badly about Sarah Palin on this blog, there is nothing else that can be said! All of that to ask this question: Conservatives, what do you TRULY believe in and how can that be achieved without belittling an ethnic or religious group?

Thursday, August 12, 2010

Tales from the Barber Chair

HOLY SHIT…

I have been in Maryland for three months now and I finally decided (after looking at my tore up head in the mirror) to look for a barber. Where I live, dare I say it is “lacking in color” and thus the barbers of color are non-existant. I went online and found a place in downtown Silver Spring and ventured out to get my misshapen hairline fixed. Going to the barber’s is an interesting experience for a black man. Where one goes for a haircut has a lot of activity, different characters and lots of conversations ongoing about everything under the sun from politics, sports and who not to trust in the neighborhood. I really didn’t know what to expect but I had to get this hair off my head and I needed to find a place and fast.

I pulled up, parked and walked to the door and before I could walk in I was greeted by one of the barbers standing outside. He asked if I had any particular person in mind for a cut. I simply said no, I need a cut. So I went in and sat down in his chair.

That’s where it got kind of weird…

He did a good job cutting my hair although it took him an hour. I kept wondering why does he keep running the clippers across my head? I said close, not bald. He did get it close, real close. So I had to give him the benefit of the doubt that since this is the first time he is working with my head, it would take him a bit longer. What was weird was the conversation that we had. It started out rather innocently (these dudes had the Tyra show on the TV…huh?) and a comment made about one of the guests set my barber off on the most tangential conversation I have ever had in a barber chair. First he talked about how there are obvious differences in white and black people but then started giving “data” which supported what he was speaking on. There was only so much I could say without sounding like I was giving him the thumbs up on this BS. From biology, we talked about obscure books which lead him into talking about the occult (and asked me what it meant…WTF!!) and finally the longest part of the diatribe was on religion. In the midst of all this, he got loud and then started asking everyone else what the hell they thought. At this point, I was praying he would finish so I could throw some money at him and run like hell out there!

Whatever happened to having a regular conversation only to find out in passing that your barber did time? Not that would be a major shock, at least the conversation would work back to sports or how wack politics are in the age of Obama. I would have much rather everyone in the barber shop had a screaming match about football than to have witnessed the rant I had the dishonor to sit through over 24 hours ago.

After paying for that haircut, I have one more shop to check out. It can’t get much worse than this right? Well if it does I may have to buy some clippers and DIY or pay my future mother-in-law for a cut…

Saturday, August 7, 2010

The Cult of Fox News

I’m a big fan of the Simpsons and the other night, I watched the episode where the townspeople joined a cult where “the leader” was in charge. Everyone gave up their wordly goods, moved onto a commune, harvested lima beans and awaited the building of a spaceship that would take them all to a new life on “blisstonia.” As hilarious as that episode sounds, cults like this exist in the world and they promise everything from getting on a spaceship, creating a utopia on earth or worst (as we have seen in historical references) freedome through loss of life at the hands of a “leader.” The Tea Party movement has used anger over the Obama administration to bring out the worst in human nature. I will be the first person to say that I have no problem with anyone having conservative viewpoints. Where I have a problem is when a conservative viewpoint is used to advance hatred in any form against any person or group. Fox News Network in my opinion has been a fertile breeding ground for planting the seeds of “Cult Think” where conservative beliefs and viewpoints have turned into beliefs which drive a larger agenda of hate.

Merriam-Webster defines Cult in several different ways. The most appropriate definition for what I have defined as Cult Think is: great devotion to a person, idea, object, movement, or work (as a film or book);especially : such devotion regarded as a literary or intellectual fad b : the object of such devotion c : a usually small group of people characterized by such devotion.”

My observations of Conservatives is one of a group who hold their beliefs strongly and in many cases, wear those beliefs on their sleeve. The ideas of limited government, tough positions of crime and punishment, low taxes and self responsibility are noble ideas. When these beliefs are twisted into loaded statements that suggest that only certain groups of people are responsible citizens, or disagreeing with the government (respectfully) makes you a terrorist, to me that is brainwashing. In addition, each argument based on these points takes the issues down to the lowest common denominator and the “talking points” become predictable and insulting. Why now that we have a black president is everything he does is “dangerous” and now it has been the call for every good citizen (read: white) to rise up and reclaim the country? What are we reclaiming it from? I think what scares me more is what do these folks want to do when they “take the country back.” The cult thinking has these Americans scared and wrapping themselves in the flag, the Constitution and around their so called God given right to arm themselves. These folks are so scared, the line has been blurred between conservative thought and action and outright fear mongering from their cult leaders at Fox. When will the brainwashing end? At this rate, the Tea Party which has done nothing to counter the hateful aspects of it’s organization will become the GOP. Frankly, I don’t see the line, hate is hate now matter how you slice it.