#207
The Disturbing Turn To The Right Is Still Here!
By Hank Silverberg
Many people had hoped that the election of Joe Biden as President would bring America back to its senses. After four years of the defeated former president (DFP), the federal government had pretty much been looted of all compassion, financial stability, civility and reputable world leadership. Much of that attitude has all slithered down to local governments and a significant portion, though not a majority of the general public.
We were quickly reminded on 1/6/21 that there was much more work to do to put America back on course towards human progress.
From Congress to state legislatures to local school boards, we have seen the damage the DFP has done that may take us years to overcome.
The right, and I am NOT talking about the William F. Buckley traditional conservatism, is really making an effort to destroy what America stands for.
They say they are speaking for parents and families and American values, but the far right seems to be in a time warp headed back to the ugly days of the 1930's when white men, egged on by reactionary religious fanatics, aimed to control our behavior and what we should think.
Nowhere is that more evident than in the spike in anti-Semitism and other forms of racism across the United States.
A poll I reported on last October indicated one in four Jews in the U.S. has been the subject of anti-Semitism in the prior 12 months. Seventeen percent said they were the subject of an anti-Semitic remark in person, 12% said it was on-line, and 3% were the subject of an actual physical attack.
There is no question in my mind that immigrants, Muslims and other minority groups have experienced similar bigotry as well in higher numbers.
1 in 4 Jews in the U.S. experienced antisemitism in the last year, report says : NPR
Why now? The racism has always been there, though more and more state governments are prohibiting their teachers from pointing that out in class.
The far right's emergence once again as a political force has emboldened people who have always thought this way but have been afraid to say or do anything.
Education of course, is the solution to ignorance, which is the cause of most racism. Those railing against CRT and are loudly screaming about their perverted views of American values, know that much. And it is one of the reasons they are trying to infiltrate our elective governments, from school boards to town councils to Congress, and to the White House.
But there is a way to counterattack. Do something. Speak out at the school board or the city council. Run for office yourself or support someone who you know will stand up to the bigots. Support the free press, the outlets who report objectively, and do what you can to drown out the right-wing pontificators on cable TV.
Philosopher Edmund Burke, who died in 1797 said it best.
"The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men should do nothing."
The United Nations has not been very effective of late on much of anything. But they did do something this past week that fits this topic. The 193 members approved an Israeli-sponsored resolution condemning anyone who denies the Holocaust. The resolution urged all nations and social media companies "to take active measures to combat anti-Semitism and Holocaust denial or distortion." The vote came on the 80th anniversary of the Wannsee Conference which was held in 1942, in which Nazi leaders coordinated their plan for the murder of all Jews across Europe. Of note, Iran "disassociated" itself from the resolution, remaining a pariah state.
My first thought on hearing this was that the U.N. should send a copy of the resolution to the school board in Southlake, Texas, which recently told teachers that any discussion about the Holocaust should be accompanied by one with opposing views.
Think about that. Do you really want to live in a country where there's an opposing view against committing mass murder???
Voter Remorse?
You could start seeing some voter remorse in Virginia very soon. The state's new Republican governor has already made some decisions that have many Virginia voters upset. I wrote last week about his attempt to ban the mask mandate by
Removing the ban is supposed to take effect on January 25th. Dozens of school boards across the state, including the Richmond City schools and all of those in Northern Virginia except one, have decided to keep the mandate in place until the issue is decided by the courts. And a lawsuit is already moving ahead.
Governor Glenn Younkin wants the ban removed. He says he is just responding to the desire of parents to have a choice on masks. But many local schools boards say they are getting the exact opposite from parents who want the protective masks to stay in schools. Leaders in the state's biggest school district, Fairfax County, have indicated they will turn away students who come to school without masks this week. It will be treated like any other violation of the dress code.
I am embarrassed to report that the one exception to rejecting the mask mandate in Northern Virginia is here in Spotsylvania County, where I live. Here the school board turned Conservative at the last election with Trumpites now holding a 4-3 edge. And they voted to dump the mandate this week, despite the state law. Luckily, my grandchildren live in a nearby district that will maintain the mask mandate.
Just how crazy and political has this simple health precaution gotten?? State Senator Amanda Chase, a Trumpite who attended the January 6th rally, is urging all parents to send their kids to school this week without masks.
On a real issue: There's also an attempt by the Youngkin administration to turn back the state's abortion laws, making it much harder to get the procedure in Virginia.
That comes despite polls that show a majority of the state's voters (55%) support abortion rights. Democrats who still hold a slim majority in the State Senate are vowing to stop any rollback in abortion rights. But Virginia, blue now for over a decade, is on the brink of turning purple again. It will be interesting to see how much the voters care.
Doomsday Clock!
Here's an interesting tidbit you may have missed. The Doomsday Clock, a remnant of the Cold War that many people have forgotten about, remains at 100 seconds before midnight as it has been for the last two years. Scientists involved in the development of the first atomic weapons put up the clock in 1947. This past Thursday, the Bulletin of Atomic Scientists announced it would stay at 100 seconds before midnight where it has been set since 2020.
Their reasons? "The change in U.S. leadership alone was not enough to reverse negative international security trends that had been long in developing and continued across the threat horizon in 2021."
Among the "threats" listed in addition to the perennial danger of nuclear weapons, are the "January 6 insurrection," climate change, the Covid-19 pandemic, and "disruptive technology in the age of information." The clock has been reset 24 times since 1947, including a turn backwards several times.
Doomsday Clock 2022: What is it and what do the numbers mean? (yahoo.com)
Midnight is supposed to mean the end of the world. This is the closest to midnight (Doomsday) the scientists have ever set the clock.
Dumbest Quote Of The Week!
After a one week hiatus, it wasn't very hard to find what could be the dumbest quote of the new year so far. And it comes from none other than Senate Minority leader Mitch McConnell. It is so bad that reaction to it got more coverage than the actual quote.
McConnell, speaking about the Senate's vote on the filibuster and on the new voting rights bill said:
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| (Sen Mitch McConnell,(R) KY) |
The implication of course, is that Black people are not "real Americans." As you would expect, the reaction was swift and hostile. And you can be sure the video will be used over and over again during the political campaign this fall. Mr. McConnell may have done more to get out the Black vote next November than anything else.
Now when you think about this quote you kind of say, "well, he really didn't mean that, it was a misspeak." But guess what? Sometimes when politicians make a flub like this it tells you what they are really thinking.
Mitch McConnell's African-American Voters Comment Draws Democratic Backlash | PEOPLE.com
McConnell, who is about to turn 80, later tried to clarify his comments by saying he left out the word "all" before Americans. But I note that if Joe Biden had made a similar misspeak, the right-wing media would have run criticism of it as the lead for an entire week and would start calling him senile among other such words. Not so with McConnell. A poll taken a year ago showed a majority of Kentuckians (53%) disapprove of the job he is doing. Time to retire, Mitch.
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