natalie's narrative

Armageddonist absolutism

Once again school has taken over my life, but I wanted to share a great Sightings email from early October, "Evangelicaldom," by Martin Marty.  The topic was evangelicals' involvement in politics, and it made me realize why it is so difficult to have a civil conversation with politically conservative Christians.  

Marty references an article in the Los Angeles Times that describes the "absolutist style of religious fundamentalism": 

Those who oppose the religification of politics may think all they have to do is change tactics, but they are sadly, tragically mistaken. They can never win, because for the political fundamentalists, this isn’t political jousting, this is Armageddon.  With stakes like that, they will not lose, and there is nothing democrats – small ‘d’ and capital ‘D’ – can do about it.

This struck a chord with me, because it is really difficult to reason with people who are truly convinced that their political stances have the seal of approval from God, and moving even a little bit from their stances would be sinful.  It would have negative eternal consequences.  How can you have a productive conversation with someone so set in her ways like this?  With so much "at stake," these Armageddonists are not budging.  Political/fiscal conservatives are geniuses for aligning with them.  Geniuses.

The moral construction of "illegal"

Language is an important tool in shaping perception.  The "toxic assets" of the 2008 financial crisis are now "legacy assets." A common practice discussed in a piece of legislation becomes a "death panel," and quickly garners opposition.  One of the most prominent--and de-humanizing--uses of language is within the immigration debate.  I saw this on Racewire today regarding the use of the word "illegal":

The real lie here is that we’re all illegal, and there’s no way of reframing this to make it anything but the truth. The United States began as a colony by a colonial empire, yet we behave as if we’ve always been here. As if the sins of our past conquest make us better than the crisis of globalization we’ve helped to create and the people caught within it. The whole notion of “illegal” is an artificial construction designed to dehumanize, deprioritize and deport without any tugging on our American heartstring. I’m not an “illegal” because I’ve run a red light, pirated software, cheated on taxes, or am Queer – because these actions don’t violate the notion that I’m still an American citizen. But take away that citizenship, built on a false sense of global security and conquest, and somehow I’m not human?

Working within the framework of "illegal" vs. "legal" imposes a status on a group of people that is reminiscent of our country's history of slavery and is based on a broken, draconian, outdated system of laws.  I'm trying to break out of this framework, whether with immigration, healthcare, or the economy, because words can have so much power without us even realizing it.

Obama's speech to schoolchildren

I just read the text of President Obama's speech he plans to give to U.S. schoolchildren tomorrow.  How DARE he say "God bless you."  I'm protesting - this is a violation of separation of church and state!!!  :)

Put it on the television screen they'll believe it

I've been listening to Slaid Cleaves a lot lately, and I like his song "Beautiful Thing."  The lyrics explain the political climate of our country so well:

Surrogates and shadowy henchmen galore
Party hacks and swiftboat and talk show whores
Look at all the lies it takes the job of making cakes

You can own the truth, you just gotta conceive it
Put it on the television screen they'll believe it
It's a beautiful thing, it's a beautiful thing

Wonder how our leaders would ever deceive us
While the profiteers count their cash and praise Jesus
The press sings another chorus of "Let Freedom Ring"

We send our boys away to come home in parts
Believe the lies with all our hearts
It's a beautiful thing, it's a beautiful thing

Dissension is a song only fools and traitors sing
Just look at all the benefits your global economy brings

Today we sing the gilded ages song
Twentieth century's dead and gone
It's a beautiful thing, it's a beautiful thing

We live in a land of hope and betrayal
I get up each morning and try to tell the tale
And so until my dying day whatever fate may bring

The dark age looms, there's evil out here
Somehow I still believe in the goodness of man
It's a beautiful thing, it's a beautiful thing
It's a beautiful thing, it's a beautiful thing

Read this now!

We are covering the death penalty in my criminal law class, so I decided to read a lengthy article in the New Yorker about a man in Texas who was sentenced to death, but who maintained until the end that he was innocent.  The piece is pretty long, but worth a read: Trial by Fire.  It is also extremely sad.  I really hope we can see changes soon with this system...

There are no words...

Again, the former Vice-President is being vocal.  Maybe he feels like he has to be in order to defend what he did for eight years:  Cheney: Torture probe "offends hell out of me."

Not only were his comments on torture and his views on Iran appalling as usual, but he stated this:

"In the intelligence arena, we ask those people to do some very difficult things,'' Cheney said. "Sometimes, that put their own lives at risk. They do so at the direction of the president...if they are now going to be subject to being investigated and prosecuted by the next administration, nobody's going to sign up for those kinds of missions.... It's a very, very devastating, I think, effect that it has on morale inside the intelligence community....''

If I remember correctly, didn't he out a covert CIA agent?  I cannot believe he would worry about the moral of the intelligence community!

Went to church today...

Went to a church service today in an attempt to battle The Cynicism (I battle both The Cynicism and The Stupid on a daily basis, and often the two are interrelated). I think it helped a little bit, and I'll go again next week!

Government is not always evil..

http://blog.sojo.net/2009/08/19/three-responses-to-a-conservative-critic-on-health-care-reform/

Brian McLaren's above response to a conservative is a succint explanation of why we should not rule out government with regard to health care reform, or with any social issue for that matter.

In other news, Barney Frank is my HERO!

Because I couldn't personally attend a townhall meeting, here's MY angry rant!

The response to the latest attempt at healthcare reform has been pretty disturbing to me.  People with guns outside of townhall meetings, people getting really worked up and yelling at congresswomen and men, comparing Obama to Hitler, rhetoric that could really incite people to violence...  it's disturbing.  Just watch Rachel Maddow or Jon Stewart and they will provide a nice summary of all the madness.

I think it's great when US Americans get involved and actually show some concern for what Congress is doing, because usually we have NO idea.  However, the level of vitriol is...disturbing.  It's the only word I can think of right now--it's just too appropriate.  One man held a sign outside a townhall meeting with the same slogan that Timothy McVeigh had on his shirt on April 19, 1995.  I am beginning to fear that something bad could happen to Obama or others, and the conservative politicians who incited these folks will just innocently hold up their hands.  Combining intense anger, our history of racism, and a pro-gun culture is a dangerous recipe.

I have two thoughts about conservatives' reaction to healthcare reform.  First, it seems extremely manipulative and exploitative of conservative politicians to spread half-truths about the Democrats' proposals.  These citizens will not be the majority, but they will be the loudest and the most attention-grabbing, which may help derail much-needed reform.  It seems like a lot of middle class, middle aged white people are getting scared and manipulated by politicians, and a lot of these people rely on soundbites rather than actually reading the proposed bills themselves.

Second, I am growing more and more disgusted because people are displaying this kind of reaction to opposing healthcare reform, while nobody did a damn thing when the Bush administration invaded another country, lied about why they invaded, and authorized torture.  I exaggerate, but I have not seen this level of anger in a while, and I'm sad that it is directed against reform and not against human rights violations.

We do need reform of the status quo of our current health insurance system.  Fifty million people--or more--are without health insurance, and we are the richest country in the world.  I am beginning to despise the conservative political view of the world, where each person fends for herself, you pull yourself up by your bootstraps and help yourself.  The conservatives' main complaint is that the government is not capable of providing quality health insurance, and that our government should be smaller.  I think everyone with that view should not be allowed to receive the H1N1 vaccination, drive on interstate highways, eat food that has been inspected before it crossed into our borders, and enjoy the protection of the most powerful military in the world.  The list could go on and on. 

Why couldn't moderates and liberals whip up this kind of anger (not violent, though) when the Bush regime was in power???  And why can't they round up some of counter-reaction (again, non-violent) to the current craziness?  The amount of money spent on Iraq and Afghanistan could have paid for universal healthcare.  I'm doing my best to dispel the rumors and by trying to educate myself, but I keep losing more and more respect for the Dems...

On a side note, I created a new tag for my posts, called "The Stupid."  Streak has used this phrase a lot lately and I wanted to steal it for myself!

A more equitable housing policy...

This, from Racewire, is an interesting take on the foreclosure crisis.  Some have proposed allowing borrowers facing foreclosure to switch from homeowners to renters.  The post includes some good links about the possibly narrow view that proponents of homeownership can have.  What looks good on paper may not be the best thing in real life.  I do wonder, if borrowers were to become renters, who would be their landlord?  The government?  Loan servicers?  That could be a scary thought.

"Nominee Says Identity Wouldn’t Distort Decisions"

...so says a headline of a NY Times article regarding Judge Sotomayor's confirmation hearings.  I didn't pay nearly enough attention to Alito and Roberts' confirmation hearings, but did anyone ask THEM whether their identity would "distort" their judicial decisionmaking?  When a white male Supreme Court appointee is in front of the Senate, I'm pretty sure his background, his race, and his gender are not issues.  No one asks whether a white male nominee's privilege, power, and majority position in society will affect his decisions.  In fact, a recent piece in the New Yorker discussed how Chief Justice John Roberts has more often ruled in favor of the strong and powerful as opposed to the weak.

Our lawmakers and the media are more likely to evaluate a white male nominee solely on merit--his accomplishments, education, and past decisions.  A Latina woman appointee has to repeatedly assure the Senate that she would apply the law to the facts, nothing more and nothing less.

Another aspect of this confirmation process that has bothered me was highlighted in a feature last week in NY Times Magazine about women on the Supreme Court.  An interviewer asked Justice Ginsberg whether the male justices can be more abrasive without notice or remark from others, while it is more attention-drawing for female judges to be abrasive.  Justice Ginsberg responded, "Yes, the notion that Sonia is an aggressive questioner — what else is new? Has anybody watched Scalia or Breyer up on the bench?"

Senators have questioned Sotomayor regarding the fact that she can be "a bit of a bully."  Please.  These people need to go sit in on an oral argument at the Supreme Court.  Sotomayor will fit right in.

They don't make movies like this anymore!

I watched Clint Eastwood's Gran Torino this week.  It will make you laugh, and it will make you cry.  I highly recommend it!

Never thought I would be quoting Deuteronomy...

You shall not deprive a resident alien or an orphan of justice; you shall not take a widow's garment in pledge. Remember that you were a slave in Egypt and the Lord your God redeemed you from there; therefore I command you to do this.

- Deuteronomy 24:17-18

This verse arrived in my inbox last week, via Sojourner's Verse and Voice email.

The unfaithful governor highlights a paradox...

South Carolina's evangelical governor refuses to resign after disappearing for a week to be with his mistress.  Comparing himself to King David, the governor stated:

I remain committed to rebuilding the trust that has been committed to me over the next 18 months, and it is my hope that I am able to follow the example set by David in the Bible — who after his fall from grace humbly refocused on the work at hand. By doing so, I will ultimately better serve in every area of my life, and I am committed to doing so.

A rabbi in the NY Times yesterday notes:

The paradox of American evangelicals is that they are Christian on the one hand and political conservatives on the other with utterly opposing views of redemption. Christians believe that no one is blameless and all must therefore ride the coattails of a perfect being into heaven. But conservatives espouse the gospel of personal accountability. The state cannot save them. Man must earn his bread by the sweat of his brow and not by welfare alone.

Justice Ginsburg rocks

I just read over the Supreme Court decision that came down yesterday regarding the New Haven Caucasian firefighters' discrimination lawsuit.  I especially liked Justice Ginsburg's dissent and her reference to "empathy."  She is great!  Although, I may be affected by the fact that one of her former clerks taught my constitutional law class last semester!