Below the surface
By Capt. Fogg
Sometimes I meet the nicest people, kind, outgoing, articulate and with many shared interests. A Saturday afternoon barbecue, a manicured garden, a convivial crowd of fellow boaters; many with experiences I can only envy, of cruising the beautiful and exotic parts of the globe.
I mention a planned sail to the Leeward Islands and a stop in beautiful Dominica with it's mountains and waterfalls and hot springs and black sand beaches like the Hawaii of long ago. "Maybe I'll never come back," I say.
"Maybe we'll all have to go elsewhere" says she, "before those Liberals ruin the country with all that debt and, you know before that Obama destroys capitalism."
There's that sick, sinking feeling again; the realization that beneath the tranquil surface, there's a dangerous reef to rip your bottom out. I should have known; but facing the isolation one feels when surrounded by people passionately inimical to your every thought and steadfastly obstinate in resisting any facts or any argument that might diminish the comfort of their cherished anger, makes one too desperate to believe someone might not have been infected with that alien zombie virus. Damn it, I let my guard down again.
"I can't watch the news any more, it's all Liberal" she says. Perhaps she doesn't, but she's listening to someone. Someone is not telling her that the debt began so soar in terrifying fashion when George entered the white house; has soared under every Republican president since Ford or reminding her that the tax cuts that were supposed to increase government revenues and that were supposed to create new jobs created didn'tno private sector jobs whatever while government jobs and government coasts soared. Someone isn't telling her that our senseless military endeavor that appears now to have been embarked upon for profit has already cost more that World War II and continues to burn through billions. That kind of debt doesn't count, only debt that might help Americans who aren't already in the club. No -- best not to listen to the Liberals on the TV news.
"It's true that 24 hour coverage leads to a format that's mostly speculation and opinion and it's true that at least one network simply lies and invents and misquotes and twists facts, " I said. Her brow began to furrow. "That's why I try to read as many sources as I can. "I read three or four to a dozen newspapers most every morning," I say. " I listen to everything from Al Jazeera to Haaretz on line." I can see the suspicion growing, the bestial voice in her head growling liberal.
I'd ask her to define liberal, but I know she's define it as its opposite. I know she has no awareness of current events, history or anything outside the Yacht Club Republican cocktail-hour school of economics and social criticism. I know there's no point in flexing a consciousness that's been ossified in one position for 75 years, so I do what I always have to do and smile and say:
"Oh, don't worry, it's a strong country and I'm sure we'll survive," even though I'm far from certain.
(Cross posted from Human Voices)
Sometimes I meet the nicest people, kind, outgoing, articulate and with many shared interests. A Saturday afternoon barbecue, a manicured garden, a convivial crowd of fellow boaters; many with experiences I can only envy, of cruising the beautiful and exotic parts of the globe.
I mention a planned sail to the Leeward Islands and a stop in beautiful Dominica with it's mountains and waterfalls and hot springs and black sand beaches like the Hawaii of long ago. "Maybe I'll never come back," I say.
"Maybe we'll all have to go elsewhere" says she, "before those Liberals ruin the country with all that debt and, you know before that Obama destroys capitalism."
There's that sick, sinking feeling again; the realization that beneath the tranquil surface, there's a dangerous reef to rip your bottom out. I should have known; but facing the isolation one feels when surrounded by people passionately inimical to your every thought and steadfastly obstinate in resisting any facts or any argument that might diminish the comfort of their cherished anger, makes one too desperate to believe someone might not have been infected with that alien zombie virus. Damn it, I let my guard down again.
"I can't watch the news any more, it's all Liberal" she says. Perhaps she doesn't, but she's listening to someone. Someone is not telling her that the debt began so soar in terrifying fashion when George entered the white house; has soared under every Republican president since Ford or reminding her that the tax cuts that were supposed to increase government revenues and that were supposed to create new jobs created didn'tno private sector jobs whatever while government jobs and government coasts soared. Someone isn't telling her that our senseless military endeavor that appears now to have been embarked upon for profit has already cost more that World War II and continues to burn through billions. That kind of debt doesn't count, only debt that might help Americans who aren't already in the club. No -- best not to listen to the Liberals on the TV news.
"It's true that 24 hour coverage leads to a format that's mostly speculation and opinion and it's true that at least one network simply lies and invents and misquotes and twists facts, " I said. Her brow began to furrow. "That's why I try to read as many sources as I can. "I read three or four to a dozen newspapers most every morning," I say. " I listen to everything from Al Jazeera to Haaretz on line." I can see the suspicion growing, the bestial voice in her head growling liberal.
I'd ask her to define liberal, but I know she's define it as its opposite. I know she has no awareness of current events, history or anything outside the Yacht Club Republican cocktail-hour school of economics and social criticism. I know there's no point in flexing a consciousness that's been ossified in one position for 75 years, so I do what I always have to do and smile and say:
"Oh, don't worry, it's a strong country and I'm sure we'll survive," even though I'm far from certain.
(Cross posted from Human Voices)
Labels: Obama Derangement Syndrome, Republicans
posted by Capt. Fogg at
10:44 AM
2 Comments:
I've had similar experiences (although I've never been with the jet-set or yachting crowd, even by mistake).
You feel at home in a group setting, comfortable with the various personalities and the banter of the group, and then someone shits in the pool (figuratively speaking) with comments from the Faux News Talking Points of the Day Menu.
It's like trying to enjoy a gathering of folks when one of them insists upon telling off color jokes about "niggers"... I've learned to walk away, because any effort to enlighten those afflicted with such disorders can only lead to endless and pointless debate.
Here's my take on the political leanings of the right: after seven or eight years of arguing over the holiday turkey with their liberal brother-in-law (that would be me) they've become so emotionally invested in the defense of the indefensible positions of their party that they can't back down or admit even to themselves that Curious George and his Merchants of Evil were bad for America. So they stick out their chins and hold forth with the same swill they've spouted for years. We can only hope they're a dying breed...
By
squatlo, at 10:38 AM
Most, but far from all, the people I'm talking about are in their 70's and nature will have her way eventually. It's the younger ones I'm amazed at and not only by their opinions but by their astonishing lack of information. That I have to tell them that no, the Soviet Union doesn't exist any more and that neither China nor Russia is likely to launch an all out nuclear strike is bizarre, and to be dismissed as a "liberal" for mentioning it is worse.
You're right -- as the saying goes, you can teach a dog to walk on two legs, but it's still a dog.
By
Capt. Fogg, at 2:58 PM
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