Letters to the Editor
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Paddling the same boat as Wil... and I'm up the Euphrates without a paddle... !!!
My father, who used to be a reasonable, Rockefeller Republican, is an American-born Middle Easterner who bears a STRIKING resemblance to Saddam Hussein. You'd think that maybe he'd have even remote sympathy for those who look like him...
HAH!
He's become a Republican wingnut, who spouts utter nonsense, racist crap, and anti-Hillary tirades.
He just arrived for the Christmas holidays, and the other day, he actually called me a "MOSLEM LOVER" for suggesting that the Iraqis may not be thrilled with their current lot in life at the hands of King George the Conqueror.
When I told him that I was far more afraid of Bush, Rove, Rumsfeld and Cheney and that I was far more likely to suffer due to their insanity than that of Osama Bin Laden, you'd have thought I was advocating turning the White House over to AlQaeda...
The only saving grace...he's here all week and has to drive around with me in my car, which has the Visualize Impeachment Bumper sticker, along with a bunch of other Anti-Bush sentiments!! Take that, DAD!!
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Seriously
Is it any surprise that so many of the drug-addled, radically left-wing (and thus, disillusion-prone), ethically simplistic, and profoundly self-absorbed baby boomers eventually transformed into Reagan Republicans? This was a generation prone, for one reason or another, to radicalism, and today's dominant counter-counter-culture, I think, is partially a reflection of that. Thankfully, today's youth are being raised on a progressivism that is both principled and pragmatic, shrewdly realistic on the political battlefield and profoundly aware of the B.S. tactics conveyed through an archaic media, and that, hopefully, will keep us from committing our parent's mistakes. Namely, going through life trading one unrealistic, simplified ideal for another, always looking for the next political rock star to promise a revolution, be it the People's or Reagan's or O'Reilly's. My parents emigrated from Sweden in the 80's and were aghast at Reagan's politics, so, though I'm technically the 'conservative' of the family (meaning I supported Dean over Kucinich), I don't have this problem on the holidays. However, for those who do, I wouldn't be so quick to lament your parent's abandonment of the 'cause'. There was no Machiavellian conspiracy to corrupt the baby boomers. Rather, given the culture they emerged from, the alliance of the disillusioned ex-liberals, the paleoconservatives, and the fundamentalists was an inevitability.
(great essay by the way, thanks Wil)
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deprogrammers wanted
The same thing happened with me and my best friend. Once an open-minded, free spirit; now a bigoted, condescending, hate-mongering beast. We've known each other more than two decades, but can no longer have a conversation.
Here's what I think happens: A big difference between liberal thinkers and hard-core conservatives seems to be in having the ego-strength to do two things: First, to ask the question, "wait, what if *I'm* wrong about (issue x)?" and second, to sustain one's (possibly unpopular) opinions in the absence of validation by one's peers.
I think screamers like O'Reilly have observed this, and exploit those otherwise admirable traits by repeatedly appealing to primal emotions like fear, envy, and the need for belonging, which then induces some otherwise rational thinkers (perhaps in an unguarded moment) to begin the self-questioning process. Rather like brainwashing -- the talkers wear down listeners' defenses by repeating the same arguments over and over, while simultaneously undermining listeners' self-confidence and sense of safety.
So, go around yelling about terrorists and crime and feminists and immigrants threatening our way of life long enough, some of us will start to wonder if we're part of the problem. Because we, too, love our country and our families and our personal safety, and we, too, have much to lose. We too, want tribal belonging and approval. Under duress, we want it that much more.
I've had any number of moments when I've heard an almost-rational argument from the right and -- because I like to consider myself intellectually flexible -- thought, "well, s/he's got a point..." only to shake myself out of it a moment later, slightly horrified.
So I imagine it just takes a moment of emotional/intellectual weakness for some people to buckle. The intellectual validation offered by these people toward those who adopt their attitudes is frequent, generous and loud. It feels good to go from intellectual tension and occasional self-doubt to a sense of good and righteous certainty (not to mention the satisfaction of indulging one's darker, maybe unacknowledged prejudices under cover of pristine ideology).
And because of the all-or-nothing, nuance-free nature of the fringe right's arguments, a small sip of ideological Kool-Aid quickly leads to the intravenous delivery system. Could be a booming business for deprogrammers in the coming decade, no?
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the real war on xmas
Wow man... In the past ten years or so my dad has veered to the right. I'd say I feel your pain, but that leaves him somewhere left of the Clintons. Uh, good luck?
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oh man
I can sympathise. It happened to my family a few years ago, and I blame it on the Fox News channel they had unaccountaly started leaving running in the family room.
That said, perhaps there is hope. They went through passions and enthusiasms for the various hateful talking-head talking points, but it was surprisingly "non-stick." They've become more moderate again, despite the occasional flare up.
The lesson I guess is that we shouldn't dismiss others as lost causes to the Republican Pod People. Avoid politics until they can calm down enough to talk respectfully.
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The Real War on Christmas
This is every holiday I spend with my family. My father has voted straight republican his entire life, and a common quote from him was, "I'd vote for the Berwick Bridge, if it's on the republican ticket." Local reference, sorry. I worked on him every single day in the year leading up to the last presidential election, and eventually he voted for Kerry. It was one of the hardest jobs I've ever done, even harder than roofing near Canada in December.
Anyway, I really enjoyed the article. The best we can do is teach our kids not to trust anyone who hasn't earned it.
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the march of fascism
Really nice article, thank you so much.
I think we have to fight this stuff with aggressive mockery. I tell my brother I can't discuss events with him because when things go bad for Bush, all he hears about on Fox is missing white women. Call them on it when they start spouting Rush talking points. We need a catchy acronym - something like RWPV - Right Wing Propoganda Victim. Okay, thats not catchy, but you get the idea. Name it, box it up, make it embarrassing.
As a self absorbed drug addled boomer, I had these holiday interrupting fights about Viet Nam, but, as with your family, there was enough love that we got over them. (And yes, I am still a commie-pinko, thank you very much)