|
In the recent column, The Fat Lady Sings, The Plaid Adder expressed a sense of desolation and cognitive dissonance following the results of November 2nd. Many of her thoughts in that column no doubt resonated with many of her readers. The failure of 51% of this country to recognize the damage done upon their homeland by the current administration is disheartening and, mind-boggingly, extremely difficult to understand. This administration WANTS more mercury in our water, fewer trees within our forests, more nuclear weapons, fewer allies with faith in us, more fundamentalist education within the school room and less scientific research performed or accepted. The list goes on. How could even the most conservative hard-liner support this? It’s a dilemma, hard to grasp, and difficult to conceive.
I lack Adder’s talent with words, but, in this space, I’ll attempt to address her basic, and closing, concern: what do the people on the other side of the line, in those murky red states really need? What earns their devotion and support and participation in a democracy which so many of us are desperately trying to resuscitate?
As a youth, I was raised in a very blue urban segment of a very red state. During parts of the year, I frequently visited rural relatives in very red parts of that same state. My grandmother and grandfather were good-hearted, hard-working, loving, caring, pro-life, homophobic, anti-communist conservatives. To his dying day, my grandfather went to a job in the wood-mill, losing his hearing day by day until he was virtually deaf. My grandmother ran her own dress store, and had the habit of making quilts as gifts to offer as heartfelt gifts into her 90’s. They protected their 55 acres from development. They worked the farm together, raised their own fruit and veggies, donated what meager income they had to help the needy and brought fresh food to those without. They were kind and generous people who cared about fellow human beings. They believed in a work ethic, undeniably, but they understood that people fall upon hard times. Their response was not to condemn, but to express Christian charity and help their fellow man. The sad thing, for me, is, were they alive today, they would have voted for Bush.
The question is: why?
The answer, sadly, is simple and difficult to correct. It’s education, stupid. In later years, my grandmother complained to me about “the commies.” I, in turn, asked her what communism was. She couldn’t answer. My grandfather once made a comment about muslim heathens. I asked him what Islam stood for. He couldn’t answer. In the meantime, numerous commercials use ambiguous code-words to incite the base. The mainstream media does little to balance this, and seems to prefer an undereducated populace. Some freaks with psychopathic tendencies (Anne Coulter, Rush Limbaugh) will always “stay the course” even if they have the true information.
The “red states,” however, DO contain people who care. How do you get these people to vote blue?
1) Make it clear you don’t object to Jesus. He just belongs in the church and not the class room. (Hey, look, I’m non-christian, but it’s an issue in many states).
2) Screw this “pro-life” versus “pro-abortion.” Make it “pro-education/prevention” versus ignorance resulting in abortion. They succeed largely to manipulation of language, phrasing.
3) Talk about health care, social security, and medicare.
The wolves are in the fold. The sheep just don’t know it yet. And, if Jesus is their herder, the flock needs to know. Some of these people come home too tired to find the truth for themselves, and take things on faith and try to do the right thing. The people you think are your enemy are not your enemy. They work hard to make a better nation. By doing so, they support you. Reciporicate, and support them by letting them know the things they miss because they’re too busy working.
FL
|
Printer-friendly format
Email this thread to a friend
Bookmark this thread
(1000+ posts)
Send PM |
Profile |
Ignore
