Sunday, March 06, 2005

Unreasonable Sheep

Ezra Klein has a very important post up. I really can't add much to it and Digby has done a fine job in this area.
What I want to do, however, is add something to the mix.
This is not just simply a discussion or fight about social security or health care or who wins the most seats in the next election. This is about the future of the world. "I wouldn't go that far." you say?
Think about this...we have a president who was elected by the overwhelming support of the religious right. These are the people who believe that war in the Middle East is a necessary step toward the "Rapture". These are the people who want this conflict extended to the final battle of Armageddon. These are the people who believe that God intended for humans to dominate the earth and that regardless of the depletion of resources and the dirty air and water God will provide. These are the people who believe that conservation is unnecessary as the "Rapture" is close and they and all others who have the true faith in Jesus will be lifted up whole into heaven to sit at the hand of God and enjoy the suffering of all the rest of us during the tribulation. Why conserve? These people believe every word in the Bible is true. These people believe that man lived with dinosaurs. These people believe that the theory of evolution is a lie. If you are gay these people will gladly see your basic human rights denied and a good many of them would gladly see you die. If you are a woman these people believe that they control your womb. If you are a black, Muslim or another non white, or even non Christian person these people believe you are an animal and should be treated as such.
The above crowd and their kin are cheering at the murder of Judge Lefkow's husband and mother. This bunch sees absolutely nothing wrong in our invasion of Iraq. These folks are cheering Bush on in his threats to Syria. (As if he can back them up).
We folk, whether we call ourselves Democrats, Liberals, Communists, Greens, Socialists or Progressives need to wake up to the reality of the world that is developing around us. The conservative right/GOP/KKK/Church of the Creator/whacko has no morals when it comes to getting their world vision forwarded. They lie, steal, cheat, murder, maim, whatever it takes to win. I am not advocating crawling down into the gutter with them...that makes us no better than them. To further Ezra's point we need to take every advantage of openings they present, especially those resulting from their over confidence. We should never refuse the opportunity to pull back the curtain on their true nature. They are creatures of the night and darkness and will wither in the full light of truth. We should not let our desire for civility keep us from taking the fight to them.
The thing we always have to remember, however, is that these people are not living in the real world. They do not listen to reason. The harsh truth of the world is not for them. They need their delusions of immortality. They need their feeling of superiority. They need someone to push down and denigrate. They need to find evil in the world. They do not want to accept an equal footing with their fellow man.
We have to work within the world they live in. It has been shown over and over that they will not be dragged into the light. How we do this is an entirely different issue and not an easy one but it can be done. They are sheep and cannot think for themselves and we just need to figure out how to supplant the "Wonder Bread" they are eating now with something of substance, flavor and nourishment for their withered souls.

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