Dangerously Antidemocratic (and anti-intellectual to boot)
No, this is not about the Bush administration's war on voting rights. Or the dangerously unreported lack of vote counting and voter impediments across the country on Tuesday, or even the idea of holding elections in "most of" Iraq. No, in the same spirit that moves progressives to understand the necessity of criticizing their own country more than others that are perhaps more guilty of human rights violations, etc., this is about a (hopefully) small, but all too vocal section of the Democratic Party and left that I am increasingly ashamed to be associated with.
Over the past 5 days there has been a chorus of anti-democratic rhetoric coming from many corners of the party. Examples include, "those backwards rednecks shouldn't be allowed to vote," "only people with college educations should get the right to vote," "voters should have to pass a test on issue awareness.," etc.. Gee, how come we get painted as elitist?
This rhetoric is some of the most shameful talk coming from the party (though the "gays cost us the election" movement is right up there) since before the scapegoating of "welfare moms" and the Moynihan Report, since, in fact, the party was largely controlled by its southern wing in the pre-New Deal days (see any irony there). Why is it shameful? Besides the obviously oligarchal underpinnings, complete anti-intellectal stance toward why people vote, disavowal of the central principals that make many of us wedded to the party, and its utterly elitist and class determined logic, it is also a classic example of the self-satisfaction of "intellectuals" in this country since the end of class-based political analysis in the early 1970s (for more on this, see Terry Eagleton, Adolph Reed, Teresa Ebert, etc.). Isn't it nice to blame all those backwards and illogical legions in those scary and ignorant red states that we could never, ever live in. I voted for Kerry, I bought a "beat Bush" T-shirt, it can't have anything to do with me and my role in the changing of American political discourse, economy and reality. If (other) Americans just weren't so ignorant I'd feel a lot more comfortable when I travel to Europe. It's a good thing we're raising our kids to shop at Whole Foods instead of Wal-Mart, a least they won't turn out like those hillbillies. Oh wait, my 401(k) is dependent upon Wal-Mart and Sodexho stock? Fuck, oh well, those ignorant yokels don't deserve more than $5.75 an hour anyway.
Over the past 5 days there has been a chorus of anti-democratic rhetoric coming from many corners of the party. Examples include, "those backwards rednecks shouldn't be allowed to vote," "only people with college educations should get the right to vote," "voters should have to pass a test on issue awareness.," etc.. Gee, how come we get painted as elitist?
This rhetoric is some of the most shameful talk coming from the party (though the "gays cost us the election" movement is right up there) since before the scapegoating of "welfare moms" and the Moynihan Report, since, in fact, the party was largely controlled by its southern wing in the pre-New Deal days (see any irony there). Why is it shameful? Besides the obviously oligarchal underpinnings, complete anti-intellectal stance toward why people vote, disavowal of the central principals that make many of us wedded to the party, and its utterly elitist and class determined logic, it is also a classic example of the self-satisfaction of "intellectuals" in this country since the end of class-based political analysis in the early 1970s (for more on this, see Terry Eagleton, Adolph Reed, Teresa Ebert, etc.). Isn't it nice to blame all those backwards and illogical legions in those scary and ignorant red states that we could never, ever live in. I voted for Kerry, I bought a "beat Bush" T-shirt, it can't have anything to do with me and my role in the changing of American political discourse, economy and reality. If (other) Americans just weren't so ignorant I'd feel a lot more comfortable when I travel to Europe. It's a good thing we're raising our kids to shop at Whole Foods instead of Wal-Mart, a least they won't turn out like those hillbillies. Oh wait, my 401(k) is dependent upon Wal-Mart and Sodexho stock? Fuck, oh well, those ignorant yokels don't deserve more than $5.75 an hour anyway.
<< Home