It’s funny how things seem to come to us when we need them. I’m not trying to be existential – what we used to call “woo-woo,” I just know that often when I’ve been thinking about something for a while, it somehow manifests itself – as a reminder or a validation or an enlightenment. A few days ago I was thinking it had been a really long time since I’d seen my friend Scott and that I should call him. Then this afternoon I ran into him in a MUNI station.
On a political level, I’ve been lamenting the complete lack of empathy that seems to be the hallmark of the current conservative movement in the U.S. Then someone posted this on Facebook and I was reminded I’m not the only one.
Yes, it seems harsh and – literally – black and white. There should be a gray area that encompasses a cohort of both liberals and conservatives. God knows I don’t always think my heart bleeds enough to make me a true liberal. But the extremes are accurate. I’ve watched the vocal conservative foot soldiers, pundits and elected officials – who literally represent the rest – prove it over and over again.
Some examples:
Senator Saxby Chambliss (R-GA) on same-sex marriage: “I’m not gay, so I’m not going to marry one.” Nothing dismissive about that.
Senator Rob Portman (R-OH) – who used to be absolutely and unequivocally against gay rights – on gay marriage: “It allowed me to think of this issue from a new perspective, and that’s of a Dad who loves his son a lot and wants him to have the same opportunities that his brother and sister would have — to have a relationship like Jane and I have had for over 26 years.” Sad he couldn’t have gotten there by – I don’t know – talking with some gay people or their families.
Senator Rand Paul (R-KY) on the war on women: “If there was a war on women, I think they won. You know, the women in my family are incredibly successful.” Hurrah for the Paul women. They represent America.
Any Republican on abortion (particularly those wielding trans-vaginal probe legislation): This is about education and religious freedom. It isn’t about women. Seems perfectly clear to me.
I don’t see the GOP ever becoming viable in a bipartisan, we-want-to-legislate sense if this is going to remain their mindset. There is no way to effectively represent people if you have no natural affinity for them and if you choose not to cultivate one. Certainly this is why the Republicans seem so unable to grasp why no amount of sugar-coating will make their appalling stances on women, minorities, immigrants, gays and anyone else who isn’t a while, heterosexual entrepreneur acceptable. The reason they have so much trouble with these groups is that they cannot or will not take themselves out of their own experiences to imagine lives and goals that are different than their own. (Remember Eric Cantor’s blissfully uninformed shout out to business owners last Labor Day?)
A great example is the apparently still somewhat relevant, Phyllis Schlafly. I was only a kid when Ms. Schlafly made her name crusading against the Equal Rights Amendment in the early 1970’s. I don’t remember a lot about her, but two words keep coming to mind: “just simply.” Her answers to any and all questions always seemed to include those two words. “I would just simply . . .” “She should just simply . . .” Thing is, the answers that followed were only ever “just simple” for a white, upper-class, Ivy League-educated person, never someone with limited financial resources or education or familial support. And Phyllis was never bothered by that fact.
Funny thought: One of the hysterical this-will bring-the-end-of-the-world arguments against the ERA back then was that it would lead to men and women using the same bathrooms. Horror of horrors! I thought about that as I was using the unisex restroom at a restaurant in Berkeley – one of many I’ve used over the years. And guess what? The world hasn’t ended.
But back to the original point: We know that many Republican leaders and pundits, at least, long, long, long, long, long for the idyllic life of the 1950’s (a pathology that will help fill several more blog posts) and that they are not in the least open to any kind of minority opinion or experience. The question is can they come around or will they remain in a disgruntled, mean-spirited netherworld forever? I don’t have a lot of faith that they can make the change.