Social progress is turning against the absolute symbolism of pseudo-authoritarianism, but the psychology of hate and religious-determination, unfortunately, is still in vogue.
(PASO ROBLES, Calif.) - The Far Right of the Republican Party is a coterie of Evangelists and traditionalists whose minds are imprinted with a fixed image, memory, opinion, or idea in such a vivid or lasting way as to make it virtually impossible for them to change or accept defeat gracefully. Wisconsin and Minnesota voters offer a case in point.
John McCain was verbally attacked by angry supporters because he appears to be losing the election to Barack Obama. The Minnesota and Wisconsin base of the Republican Party consists of people who always vote Republican, but who carried its susceptibility to an irresponsible extreme by believing planted-epithets of Obama as a “terrorist.” when asked by John McCain, “who is the real Barack Obama?“ Shouts of “kill him,” and “bomb Obama,” by radical apostles reflect an ulterior motive beyond the innocent-understanding of ordinary folk which, to his credit, John McCain had to admit.
The rural-mid-west and states below the Mason-Dixon Line are fertile ground for Evangelists whose plow cuts deep into the soil of rural and traditional existence. But this year some traditional red-states are changing their tune. Colorado, New Mexico, Florida, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, and Virginia are prominent examples, to which Ohio and Michigan can be added, and possibly West Virginia, Missouri and Nevada, too.
Indiana is an exception, but New Hampshire has joined the blue with a vengeance, and even South Dakota is tending in that direction.
Consequently, the Religious Right is resorting to extreme measures to stop the desertion of its dutiful-faithful to the realm-of-reason in much the same fashion as was used during the Middle Age between the 15th and 18th centuries when the Inquisition was rampant and witches and their supposed-craft was revived, via the Edict of Faith, to destroy deviants of the faith, millions of whom were committed to the flames of an artificial Hell. Reason was the loser then, and logic is being put to the test again now.
Extremism is the engine of Republicanism today just as the Holy See was then and continues to be, but with a more reasonable bent. Much of the power of religious persuasion was reduced to logic with the acceptance of scientific certainty, as far as it goes. Infallibility is no longer a claim that demands the submission of worshippers to its purpose. God gave man a brain that elevated him above the level of submission to one of accommodation. The Evangelical Movement of today is an attempt by pretenders to return man to a past when religious authority was dominant and punishment was sure. It must not succeed, and appears to be slipping.
I attended SFSU in the 1970s when the strength of the radical 60s had run its course, and noted pleasantly that students were not inclined to demonstrate as before, but wanted a good education. H.I. Hayakawa was president then, a Semanticist famous for his knowledge of how words can change our lives, noting “The Word is not the Thing, its how we react to them that is important.”
Republicans are out to destroy Barack Obama, by incessantly referring to his unusual names, and by insinuating he is a “terrorist by association” of a man who, when Ayers was active, Obama was eight. The object is to produce “identification reactions that will make intelligent discussion of truth impossible,” It isn’t working; social progress is turning against the absolute symbolism of pseudo-authoritarianism, but the psychology of hate and religious-determination, unfortunately, is still in vogue.
------------------------------------------------Kenneth G. Ramey was a 79-year old "writer without a Website" who is generating excellent, provocative articles on the subject of religion and world affairs. We are pleased that Ken's "lone wolf" presence as a writer in the world has been replaced by a spot on our team of writers at Salem-News.com. Raised in Minnesota and California during the dark years of the Great American Depression, Ken is well suited to talk about the powerful forces in the world that give all of us hope and tragedy and everything in between. You can write to Ken at: kgramey@sbcglobal.net
Extremism And PropagandaSalem-News.com