The Real America Vs. the Republican Party of Intolerance
A BUZZFLASH EDITORIAL
Message to the Republican Party: The "Real America" is not a region, religion or a demographic of people – and it is not rallies composed of rowdy, bigoted hooligans.
The "Real America" is a gift given to us in the form of the Constitution and a system of government that guarantees rule by the consent of the governed – and that includes all citizens who are eligible to vote – and a nation that abides by the rule of law.
A BuzzFlash reader recently sent us this quotation from Robert F. Kennedy:
What is objectionable, what is dangerous about extremists, is not that they are extreme, but that they are intolerant. The evil is not what they say about their cause, but what they say about their opponents.
Forty years after his assassination – during a decade when the guns of intolerance attempted to shoot down the "Real America" – Robert F. Kennedy could not have more aptly described and pinpointed the grotesque character of the Republican Party since the advent of Richard M. Nixon.
As we know, the smug, hateful, religious extremist, and morally reprehensible heart of the GOP has beat all the stronger over the last 8 years. It has reached a new level of a Frankenstein parody of the "Real America" – our Constitution and our system of checks and balances – during the McCain campaign.
The genius of the American Revolution was that it gave birth to a nation that allowed for a country that was Constitutionally bound to refresh its leadership on an ongoing basis, subject to the choice of its citizens – and put into place a balanced system of checks and balances to ensure that no branch of government became too powerful or "monarchical" in nature.
The "Real America" is written into our founding documents, not into a self-anointed mob of self-righteous and ethically-challenged members of one political party.
We detest the exclusionary, greedy arc of the Republican Party since Nixon, but we don’t deny the right of the haters and bullies to share this nation with those who understand our Constitutional roots. We are all part of one national community with the right to disagree about ideas.
We are, after all, a nation of inclusion, not exclusion. The "Real America" is a concept shared, an adopted identity (for we are all – except Native Americans – descendants of immigrants to this land) that champions liberty, religious freedom, economic opportunity on a level playing field, and complete freedom without regard to ethnic, gender or social background.
In 2008, we have a choice between the faux "Real Americans" who promote intolerance with incendiary rhetoric and a wink and a nod – and the "Real America," a leader who bases his principles on the Constitution and the rule of law.
The choice should not be a hard one to make if you believe in the "Real America" of the promise of this great experiment in democracy.
BuzzFlash proudly endorses Barack Obama for President of the United States.
Message to the Republican Party: The "Real America" is not a region, religion or a demographic of people – and it is not rallies composed of rowdy, bigoted hooligans.
The "Real America" is a gift given to us in the form of the Constitution and a system of government that guarantees rule by the consent of the governed – and that includes all citizens who are eligible to vote – and a nation that abides by the rule of law.
A BuzzFlash reader recently sent us this quotation from Robert F. Kennedy:
What is objectionable, what is dangerous about extremists, is not that they are extreme, but that they are intolerant. The evil is not what they say about their cause, but what they say about their opponents.
Forty years after his assassination – during a decade when the guns of intolerance attempted to shoot down the "Real America" – Robert F. Kennedy could not have more aptly described and pinpointed the grotesque character of the Republican Party since the advent of Richard M. Nixon.
As we know, the smug, hateful, religious extremist, and morally reprehensible heart of the GOP has beat all the stronger over the last 8 years. It has reached a new level of a Frankenstein parody of the "Real America" – our Constitution and our system of checks and balances – during the McCain campaign.
The genius of the American Revolution was that it gave birth to a nation that allowed for a country that was Constitutionally bound to refresh its leadership on an ongoing basis, subject to the choice of its citizens – and put into place a balanced system of checks and balances to ensure that no branch of government became too powerful or "monarchical" in nature.
The "Real America" is written into our founding documents, not into a self-anointed mob of self-righteous and ethically-challenged members of one political party.
We detest the exclusionary, greedy arc of the Republican Party since Nixon, but we don’t deny the right of the haters and bullies to share this nation with those who understand our Constitutional roots. We are all part of one national community with the right to disagree about ideas.
We are, after all, a nation of inclusion, not exclusion. The "Real America" is a concept shared, an adopted identity (for we are all – except Native Americans – descendants of immigrants to this land) that champions liberty, religious freedom, economic opportunity on a level playing field, and complete freedom without regard to ethnic, gender or social background.
In 2008, we have a choice between the faux "Real Americans" who promote intolerance with incendiary rhetoric and a wink and a nod – and the "Real America," a leader who bases his principles on the Constitution and the rule of law.
The choice should not be a hard one to make if you believe in the "Real America" of the promise of this great experiment in democracy.
BuzzFlash proudly endorses Barack Obama for President of the United States.
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