Insert a Trite Metaphor for a Corral #110

Posted on August 14, 2011 in Roundup

Absolute power does not corrupt absolutely, absolute power attracts the corruptible. — Frank Herbert

Memes. A couple of memes driving extremists caught my attention today. The first was suggested by the comment of a progressive who told an African American woman that she had to “get over being black”. The meme is that most African Americans have an unreasonable hair trigger about race and are only supporting Obama because he is black.

It’s an echo of a meme that the Republicans have been circulating for years, one that they apply until their black candidates get criticized for their positions. Then invoking racism becomes just fine as [[Alan West]], [[Clarence Thomas]], or [[Herman Cain]] will show you any day.

Another folk theory that I encountered this past week is “all politics is corrupt”. This dripped off the honeyed lips of a Tea Party minion. I’ve been hearing this one since Watergate and it is always Republicans who invoke it. The idea here is that if all politics is corrupt, then the Democrats do it, too, and we can’t fault them ((I don’t tolerate corruption from any politician regardless of party.)) .

There’s an insidious intent behind the meme and that is to block any attempts to reform the political process. A secondary aim is to treat corruption involving millions in donations from corporations or wealthy individuals as insignificant. “Ah, politics is always corrupt. Live with it.”

We must resist such memes. First, we must recognize that we are a long way from a post-racial age — just look in the prisons and in the unemployment figures ((For that matter, we’re hardly in a post-feminist age. We need to struggle for equality just as surely now as ever.)) Second, we must never let anyone tell us to give up — that we can’t do better than we are. Finally, let’s not knock down the good that has been accomplished because we’re told it’s just hopeless. It is time to tell the GOP that you can’t be a party of morals that takes paybacks. When you sell out to the rich, you are contributing to a national rot. Stop it now.

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