Having just read this, I felt my entire world tilt into a new frame of reference.

And now, what I find myself asking myself is this:

Having allowed ourselves to be goaded by our super wealthy super elites into raping and pillaging the resources rich region of the Middle East for them, enthusiastically aiding and abetting as they line their pockets with billions of our tax dollars and trillions worth of loot, spoils, and blood spattered war profits...  will we now manage to pull our heads out of our asses long enough to significantly mitigate one of the vast entrenched economic interests whereby those same super wealthy super elites continually rape and pillage our health care system as they line their pockets with billions of our tax dollars and trillions in ill got pharamceutical and blood spattered insurance premium profits?

Or, to put it another way, as our newly anointed reform government continues unabated the same predatory, profit oriented foreign policy as the previous entirely immoral administration initiated and prosecuted with insane and murderous zeal, it's wonderful that we Americans are still so magnificently self centered that we've made the issue of whether or not that same reform government can save us some money on better health insurance the crucial concern by which that reform government will succeed or fail.

It's good that we've got our priorities straight, and, as always, our hearts are in the right place.

 

Sometimes the truth is like a light bulb going on over your head; that's how the cartoonists' visual cliche originated.  Other times, it's like a hard slap to the face, clearing your mind, allowing enlightenment to illuminate your interior landscape like a suddenly risen sun.

It occurred to me today, as I was reading nothing much... it was like a thirty or forty loose jigsaw puzzle pieces abruptly locking together in the correct configuration in my mind, showing me the image clearly for the first time:

Conservatives are afraid.

Of liberals.

Let me say that again:  Conservatives are AFRAID.

Of LIBERALS.

It's... yeah, I know.  'Crazy' hardly seems to cover it.

Liberals are the tolerant ones.  We're the ones who actually believe there should be a dissenting point of view, or more than one.  We're the ones who respect the loyal opposition, the ones with empathy, the party of inclusion, the ones who reach out to anyone willing to be open minded, the ones who think there may well be valid answers and approaches to public policy issues outside the standard Democratic box.  We're the ones who will consider the options, even if the options come from people who are not of us.  We're the peaceful ones, the ones who oppose unnecessary wars, the ones who collect tax money and use the proceeds to help the weak, the poor, and the marginalized.  We're the compassionate ones.  

We're the ones that DON'T have all the guns.

And yet, the right... the intolerant, hate filled, uncivil, gun totin', 'protect an unborn child by killing an abortionist', 'bomb bomb bomb bomb bomb Iran' right, the capital punishment loving right, the 'shoot them all and let God sort them out' right, the torture happy right, the habeas corpus hating right, the right that believes screaming and shouting and inciting to riot is how we should actually conduct a discourse... those guys... these guys... are afraid.

Of US.

The hippies.  The hairbags.  The pinkos.  The commies.  The fags. The latte lovin' lefties, with our Nieman Marcus shopping bags and our San Francisco values and our "Make Love Not War" and "Hell No We Won't Go". 

And the thing is, they know it's ridiculous.   That's why, suddenly, we're all Nazis.  It may be rather ridiculous, even kind of sissified, for the Real American Men and Women of the Right to be terrified of pansy-wansy progressives, but there's nothing weird about being afraid of NAZIS.  Nazis murdered ten million people, they started a war, they were dictatorial tyrants, they had all those concentration camps, they goose stepped all over the place and said "Sieg Heil" and tried to kill Indiana Jones and his lovable dad.  Nazis were BAD.  It's okay to be afraid of Nazis. 

So, you know, liberals are Nazis.  Let's go to war with them.

It's ridiculous, it's ludicrous, it's borderline insane.  Sure, I could understand it if they were genuinely afraid of the increasing power of a centralized Federal government encroaching further and further into their private lives, but, no, they're fine with all that stuff when the Federal government is run by Republicans.  Spy on everyone illegally?  Lock Americans up without a trial or any outside contact forever?  Torture people?  Force peaceful protesters into 'free speech zones'?  That's great!  No, really, it's fine... as long as Republicans are doing it. 

Democrats want to actually give everyone access to decent health care at an affordable price?  KILLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL!!!!!!

They're afraid of us. 

I couldn't even begin to tell you why, but they are.

This doesn't make them less dangerous.  More ludicrous, yes, but not less dangerous.  When people are afraid, they tend to overreact, and their overreactions are often violent.

I don't know why they're afraid of us, but they are. 

Which means we should be afraid of them.

It is my sincerest hope that the American people get some kind of significant health care reform... something that makes life much, much better for every non-wealthy person in America.  Because that will cut across party lines; there are as many or more poor people in the Republican Party, as many or more poor conservatives, as there are poor Democrats and liberals and progressives.  And if health care becomes more accessible to the poor, and more affordable to the working class, I have to believe that, among many, many other benefits that will accrue to our society, we will gain this significant one:

Conservatives will stop being afraid of us. 

Because really, we're just trying to make things better for everyone. 

Honest.