American Conservatives in an alternate universe
August 14th 2009 03:37
It began in the 70s, partly in response to the seemingly too wild ways of the counter culture in America. People who were fed up with everything from the civil rights movement to hippies coalesced into a budding movement centered around fostering fundamentalism and building a power base.
They weren't given much thought until Ronald Reagan capitalized on the movement and used it to thrust him into the White House. And of course, everyone who identifies themselves as a conservative doesn't fit the mold presented here. But the vast majority of them do.
A movement that began mostly in reaction to what was perceived as an America going to liberal was set on fire by abortion. That one issue became the great mobilizer, the fountain from which all sprang in the movement. And it didn't take long for power brokers and corporate interests to begin to exploit the people involved.
The Republican Party, for at least about the last 50 years, has done absolutely nothing for the common person, and myriad things for corporations and the money elite. But they could never have reached the power level they did or accomplished their goals to such a great extent if not for the fundamentalists who were eager to help them.
There's always been an unsaid understanding in the religious right. If you aren't one of us, you are an enemy. If you are one of us, you can get away with an awful lot. The moral rancor directed at Americans in general is always held in check when it comes to the sins of the like-minded. Politicians could steal, enrich cronies, start wars, and be all around incompetent. Religious leaders could break all their own moral guidelines and be quickly forgiven.
That's the background that might help explain some of the people we see protesting town hall meetings across the country. These are people driven by their ideology, and absolutely sure they are right. Lately some of them are experiencing something new, the feeling that they might not be so right after all. Still others, in light of the decline of their power and influence, have grown even more angry. You have to understand, their entire world view is threatened.
These are people who grew up sure that they were the last generation, that Jesus would be back soon. They looked for proof in everything from the formation of the nation of Israel to the frequency of earthquakes. As the millennium came to a close and their power was near peak.
And now they see their world view under attack. More from reality than any specific group, but under attack just the same. Jesus didn't come back, and they are getting older. The prophets for profit who predicted such things as "The Late Great Planet Earth" missed the mark. And there is a liberal in the White House! They see their relative power and influence declining rapidly, and are eager to hold onto any semblance of what they once had.
If you can believe the world is only a few thousand years old, that the bible is the literal word of God, that we are on the cusp of a genocidal End Time - it's not a big leap to believe other conservative dogma.
Like I wrote earlier, of course this isn't all conservatives today. But it's representative of the ones in leadership for sure. And frankly, I don't get conservatives who don't fit this mold. I challenge any conservative reading this to tell me one thing conservative leadership accomplished that didn't primarily benefit either the very religious or the very wealthy. There's no "there" there for the rest of America. At least the fundamentalists are on the right side for their interests.
Look for more outlandish activity from the right if President Obama is able to move his agenda ahead. The more the fundamentalists push themselves to the fringe, the louder that fringe will become. And the less relevant. They will gather around their icons like Limbaugh, Beck and Hannity. And they will fade into the future.
They weren't given much thought until Ronald Reagan capitalized on the movement and used it to thrust him into the White House. And of course, everyone who identifies themselves as a conservative doesn't fit the mold presented here. But the vast majority of them do.
A movement that began mostly in reaction to what was perceived as an America going to liberal was set on fire by abortion. That one issue became the great mobilizer, the fountain from which all sprang in the movement. And it didn't take long for power brokers and corporate interests to begin to exploit the people involved.
The Republican Party, for at least about the last 50 years, has done absolutely nothing for the common person, and myriad things for corporations and the money elite. But they could never have reached the power level they did or accomplished their goals to such a great extent if not for the fundamentalists who were eager to help them.
There's always been an unsaid understanding in the religious right. If you aren't one of us, you are an enemy. If you are one of us, you can get away with an awful lot. The moral rancor directed at Americans in general is always held in check when it comes to the sins of the like-minded. Politicians could steal, enrich cronies, start wars, and be all around incompetent. Religious leaders could break all their own moral guidelines and be quickly forgiven.
That's the background that might help explain some of the people we see protesting town hall meetings across the country. These are people driven by their ideology, and absolutely sure they are right. Lately some of them are experiencing something new, the feeling that they might not be so right after all. Still others, in light of the decline of their power and influence, have grown even more angry. You have to understand, their entire world view is threatened.
These are people who grew up sure that they were the last generation, that Jesus would be back soon. They looked for proof in everything from the formation of the nation of Israel to the frequency of earthquakes. As the millennium came to a close and their power was near peak.
And now they see their world view under attack. More from reality than any specific group, but under attack just the same. Jesus didn't come back, and they are getting older. The prophets for profit who predicted such things as "The Late Great Planet Earth" missed the mark. And there is a liberal in the White House! They see their relative power and influence declining rapidly, and are eager to hold onto any semblance of what they once had.
If you can believe the world is only a few thousand years old, that the bible is the literal word of God, that we are on the cusp of a genocidal End Time - it's not a big leap to believe other conservative dogma.
Like I wrote earlier, of course this isn't all conservatives today. But it's representative of the ones in leadership for sure. And frankly, I don't get conservatives who don't fit this mold. I challenge any conservative reading this to tell me one thing conservative leadership accomplished that didn't primarily benefit either the very religious or the very wealthy. There's no "there" there for the rest of America. At least the fundamentalists are on the right side for their interests.
Look for more outlandish activity from the right if President Obama is able to move his agenda ahead. The more the fundamentalists push themselves to the fringe, the louder that fringe will become. And the less relevant. They will gather around their icons like Limbaugh, Beck and Hannity. And they will fade into the future.
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Comment by Morgan Bell
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Artist Quirk
its like mass hysteria, im glad "the base" is losing its power, it was poisoning your country, nice to see someone rational in charge for a change
Comment by Schmoozer
Schmoozer
Keep blogging.