At least now, I have an excuse to wear lycra.
“An election is coming. Universal peace is declared and the foxes have a sincere interest in prolonging the lives of the poultry.”- T.S. Eliot
I was asked the question today why I was so consumed with politics and why I was so interested in the “horrid” news stories that are thrown at us constantly. It shocked me for a moment; until I realized that most people would rather avoid hearing about the bad. They want to hear that it’s all getting better. They want to believe that we all are safe and cozy inside our beds. They delude themselves into thinking that we have the best people possible running our nation and assisting our world.
Now, call me Captain Obvious if you must, but that isn’t and will never be the case. We will never be safe, happy, or cozy. Even if the politicians and American leaders change drastically, we will always have bigots and extremists contradicting the things they claim to stand for; they will continue to degrade anyone who doesn’t follow the same path that they do.
So, why fight, comment, learn, and grieve if it will never change? It’s who I am… I can’t stand to see people hurting and fighting for something that they should have without question. I have to hope that any small changes made will help those that I love. Mostly, I am trying to understand. I’m trying to make sense of it all. Supposedly we are the greatest nation in the world; yet, those that should lead us and try to make us better cut us off at the knees and leave us to bleed?
For example, read some of these quotes. These men and women are our past, present, and (Goddess forbid) our future. They are harsh and disgusting….
“Not all Muslims may be terrorists, but all terrorists are Muslims.”- Ann Coulter, from her syndicated column on 9-28-2001
“Not only is homosexuality a sin, but anyone who supports fags is just as guilty as they are. You are both worthy of death.” Fred Phelps, quoted by State Press (Arizona State University, 03-11-1998
“The long-term goal of Christians in politics should be to gain exclusive control over the franchise. Those who refuse to submit publicly to the eternal sanctions of God by submitting to His Church’s public marks of the covenant– baptism and holy communion — must be denied citizenship, just as they were in ancient Isarel.” – Gary North, Political Polytheism: The Myth of Pluralism. 1989
“I don’t think that witchcraft is a religion. I wish the military would rethink this decision.” George W. Bush, on the military recognizing Wicca as a valid religion, to ABC news, 06-1999
“I’m an old-fashioned woman. Men should take care of women, and if men were taking care of women today, we wouldn’t have to vote.”- Kay O’Conner (Kansas Senate), quoted by the Kansas City Star, 2001
“Why is this man in the White House? The majority of Americans did not vote for him. Why is he there? And I tell you this morning that he’s in the White House because God put him there for a time such as this.”- Lt Gen William Boykin, speaking of G. W. Bush, New York Times, 17 October 2003
“Just like what Nazi Germany did to the Jews, so liberal America is now doing to the evangelical Christians. It’s no different. It is the same thing. It is happening all over again. It is the Democratic Congress, the liberal-based media and the homosexuals who want to destroy the Christians. Wholesale abuse and discrimination and the worst bigotry directed toward any group in America today. More terrible than anything suffered by any minority in history.”- Pat Robertson, 1993 interview with Molly Ivin
“Unless we get medically lucky, in three or four years, on of the options discussed will be the extermination of homosexuals.”- Paul Cameron
“Oh, you’re one of the sodomites. You should only get AIDS and die, you pig. How’s that? Why don’t you see if you can sue me, you pig. You got nothing better than to put me down, you piece of garbage. You have got nothing to do today, go eat a sausage and choke on it.” – Michael Savage, comment made on national television show Savage Nation, 07-05-2003
I know that several of those quoted are wack jobs and few take them seriously. However, several people do take their words to heart. That is what saddens me the most. Needless to ask but, how can I not focus on politics, civil rights, and news stories seriously after that? How can I not try to get my word out and try to educate and communicate with people? So if that means I read a lot of news sites, and talk about it at length that’s ok with me. I’ll continue to be Captain Obvious.
Until next time, I’ll start sewing my super suit,
autumn