Culture Warriors category archive
Delusions of Virtue 0
Bigotry wants itself some equal rights.
The magnificent chutzpah of the twisted rationalization is stunning. Stupid, nasty, perverse, self-serving, vile, hypocritical, craven, and evil, but stunning.
(Ask me nicely, I’ll tell you what I really think.)
Separate and Sequel 0
John Romano reminds us of another time in which separation of church and state was an issue. A bit:
For 55 years ago this week, another presidential candidate had to swear the exact opposite to appease a group of skeptical Protestant ministers.
In 1960, the nation was gripped by the idea that a Catholic president might willfully ignore U.S. laws and instead follow the Vatican’s doctrines.
I guess how one some persons feel about separation of church and state depends on whose church is being separated . . . .
A Nation of Immigrants 2
Alfred Doblin is disheartened by Republican rants about brown people.
Scary stuff. Maybe America is not 1933 Munich, but we are not a shining city on a hill, either. This rhetoric by smart, pragmatic politicians like Christie and Bush is dangerous. It shows how much both men will sacrifice to become president. They are willing to abandon all that was good about their public lives just to compete with a billionaire P.T. Barnum with straw-colored hair. Is this the only choice: The scarecrow or the straw man?
Follow the link for the rest.
American Taliban: Sharia and Sharia Like Dept. 0
The Rude One points out that contemptuous of court Kentucky county clerk Kim Davis is, by her actions, attempting to impose Sharia Law. A snippet:
Image via Kos.
The New Crusaders 0
Giles Frazier writes of England, but his words apply throughout (to use an old term) Christendom.
More at the link.
If at First You Don’t Succeed . . . . 0
A Kentucky judge tries an end-around on the culture front.
As marriage is a legal contract and you are either in a contract or you’re not, this is prima facie stupid, but culture warriors will no doubt think it’s a brilliant tactic to allow them to interfere in the private lives of others.
Motherhood Is Wonderful . . . 0
. . . as long it remains behind closed doors.
It amazes how the letter-writer manages to conflate a pregnant lady wishing to continue working at her job as long as she can with “political correctness.”
Her doing so supports the argument that persons who complain about “political correctness” want nothing more than a license to be nasty without penalty.
Anchor Babies Away! 0
Aside:
“Anchor babies” exist only in the fetid imaginations of racists and bigots.
If someone you know–including someone running for public office–starts to babble about “anchor babies,” back away, slowly. He or she is so taken with hate as to be beyond reason.
American Taliban, Reprise 0
Chris Honore marvels at the appeal of Donald Trump and finds an alarming analogy. A snippet:
The answer may reside with ISIS. To explain, at least in part, the attraction of this group, Roger Cohen posited in the New York Times that what this caliphate offers is a release from the “burden of freedom” while offering purpose and meaning as well as strict moral boundaries and order. There is the promise of salvation and martyrdom framed by a code of behavior (sharia law) that is enforced with lethal finality while simultaneously surrounding the true believer with community and approbation.
Follow the link for the rest of his argument.
If One Standard Is Good, Two Must Be Better 3
I’ve mentioned before my opinion that persons who complain about “political correctness” are part of the “have cake, eat it too” crowd: They want to be permitted to be nasty without penalty.
Historiann sums it up quite nicely. A snippet:
Facebook Frolics 0
You couldn’t make this stuff up.
I think Henry Mancini* wrote a song about just these sorts of antics:
When we played our crusade,
We were like children posing . . . .
_____________
*I apologize to the memory of Mancini, who was a marvelous composer whose music I cherish, but, really, I couldn’t resist.
Suffer the Children . . . 0
. . . or be held in contemptible court.
Facebook Frolics 0
Which reminds me of the story about the fellow who was drowsing through a sermon about the Ten Commandments. When the preacher got to the Seventh Commandment, he perked up and said to himself, “Ah, that’s where I left my umbrella . . . .”