- Top Features:
- War Room
- Glenn Greenwald
- Broadsheet
- Joan Walsh
- Camille Paglia
- Since You Asked
- Follow Salon:
Read other letters about this article
The global conclusion of the 20th century was that racism and sexism are fundamentally wrong, and that all human beings have fundamental rights.
The global conclusion of the 21st century is that sentient animals also have inalienable rights - which can be seen in the passage of California's Prop 2.
It's also important to remember, however, that racism and sexism still exist. It's a mentality based on primitive "in-group/out-group" associations - the belief being that "people who look like me are more likely to share my beliefs/values". This is not true, but con artists love these people - "Yes, I AM one of you! Want to invest in my company?"
So, how do we overcome these latent tendencies in our society? Keep in mind that a lot of this is also about dominance - who gets to be the alpha male chimp? (or alpha female chimp, as the case may be?) Who gets to go first at the buffet, who gets their pick of the attractive young women (or men?), who gets to fly on a private jet... vs. who takes the bus? If large groups of people can be classified as permanently low-ranking civilians, then there is a lot less competition for the king's quarters.
So, if a small group finds it easier to hold onto power by employing prejudice as political strategy... yes, we are talking about the Republican Party here - "fear anyone who doesn't look like you" is one of their main party lines.
Thus, I'd advise against labeling yourself with anything other than "human being". It might be fair to describe your position on issues as liberal or conservative, but you might want to keep in mind the original meanings:
Liberal: as in liberate. A "liberal education" is intended to liberate the mind by exposing one to a wide variety of topics. Unfortunately, in the U.S. this usually became the "casual liberal education" rather than the far better "formal liberal education" - which requires good schools and a disciplined approach on the student's part.
Conservative: as in conserve. A "fiscal conservative" is one who carefully watches the books, makes sure the accounting is not fraudulent, does research before making investments, and is cautious about leverage and exposure - the EXACT opposite of the so-called conservatives in Washington, who really have a casually liberal attitude when it comes to finance.
Where these notions totally fail, however, is when it comes to talking about the two most critical issues: energy and the planetary ecology: air, water and soil.
What is a liberal attitude on drinking poisoned water? What's a conservative viewpoint on rising sea levels? What's the liberal vs. the conservative view on energy supplies? Wars for oil in the Middle East? Corrupt middlemen manipulating energy prices with the government's blessing? The death of a hundred thousand salmon in California and Oregon rivers because of agribusiness using their political clout to deliver cheap water to their plantations? What's the conservative opinion on that?
Such actions should be viewed for what they are: criminal.
