Jane Elliott's Blog

Where Are The Right To Lifers, Now? Twenty beloved, beautiful children and several adults are dead at the hands of a son of a survivalist and we're once again in mourning. And, once again, we'll declare that this "isn't supposed to happen here," and "how could someone do this to these children?" while we ignore the fact that twenty children are killed every day of the year, many of them by people wielding legal firearms. The difference is, of course, that most of those daily deaths occur in the inner city where "those people" live, and we don't regard those deaths as catastrophic; they're merely unfortunate. The fact that our Declaration of Independence guarantees every one of those children the right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness is overshadowed by the 2nd amendment to our Constitution, which gives United States citizens the right to bear arms, as part of a well-regulated militia. Are we, as a society, actually willing to go on denying thousands of people life as we guarantee a few people the right to possess as many, and as many kinds of, firearms as they can afford? Do we really think that the people who loved those victims would be willing to trade their loved ones' lives for the right of some sick son-of-a-survivalist to bear arms? Does the right to life apply only to the unborn?

We've spent the last four years hearing, eating, sleeping, walking, and talking elections! So now it's over. The decision has been made and we can all relax and forget about politics for a while. Not so! We are now being tormented with the next election and will be for another four years! And perhaps the most disgusting part of this whole mess is that the Republicans have decided that the American electorate made a mistake when they re-elected Barak Obama and so they are once again determined to prevent his being successful in the office for which he is so eminently qualified. How long will we be willing to put up with this nonsense? Are we really going to permit Eric Cantor and Paul Ryan and their henchones to hold our economy hostage for another four years? Does the will of the people mean nothing, anymore? Why did we go to all the expense of holding an election, if the results were to be ignored, or, what's worse, denied, by those who are simply terrified at the continued presence of a Black man in the White House? This past month has been a total refutation of everything we were taught in Civics class in high school and in that rural school that I attended for 9 years (it was out behind our log cabin) and where we were taught how the American government works and what Democracy is all about. Didn't any of these fools take those courses? Did the schools stop teaching Civics and Government? Is the word 'integrity' not in these public servants' vocabularies? Who'd have imagined that a few misguided, pale, stale males would be allowed to scuttle the ship of state in order to perpetuate their emotional commitment to ignorance, which is how Nathan Rutstein defined prejudice? Unfortunately, their behaviors are proof that Rick Santorum was right, after all, when he said that education was unnecessary: It certainly is proving to be counterproductive, in the case of these crazies.

How refreshing it was, last week, to hear Vice President Biden say that his faith as a Catholic dictates his behaviors, but does not dictate the behaviors of those of other faiths! How very Constitutional! Why haven't R&R ever heard of that part of the Constitution? Could someone possibly check into these two fools' backgrounds and see where they were educated, informed, indoctrinated as to the meaning of the phrase "freedom of religion"?

When will it occur to those campaigning for the top offices in the US government that people all over the world, with whom we are going to have to communicate and negotiate in the future, are watching these debates and seeing these Republican contenders lie, exaggerate, obfuscate, and dissemble as they attempt to hide their plans for the future of this country? When will it occur to those advising these Republican men that, if the contenders for the Presidency will deliberately--and publicly--attempt to deceive their own countrymen, they will be seen as being willing to attempt to deceive those with whom they must negotiate in the international arena? Who would trust the words of either of these Republican men, after having watched them "debate"? Do I? Do you?

Statesman: one who exercises political leadership wisely and without narrow partisanship. Voyeur: a prying observer who is usually seeking the sordid or the scandalous. Our present political climate has reduced the former to the latter. How much lower are we willing to allow our elected representatives to go before we will indicate that we have had enough of this sophomoric, imbecilic behavior? Teachers engaged in educating their students about current affairs this fall are going to have a tough time trying to deal with the vocabulary, topics, and misconceptions being promulgated by many of the significant adults in positions of power in this country, right now. Imagine being in a classroom and trying to explain "legitimate rape" and "forcible rape" and the concept of the intelligent ovum, trying to choose whether "to be or not to be" fertilized, to a class of naive, innocent, ignorant adolescents. Perhaps it's time to remove some of these illiterate politicians from their ever-so-lucrative positions, and send them home so that they can receive some education in things like anthropology, biology, psychology, government, and the law. They have obviously forgotten everything they ever learned in those courses when, and if, they ever took them in the past. Elie Wiesel said that we must not tolerate the intolerable. What is being done and said in the name of politics in this country has become intolerable. We have the responsibility to demand that this ugliness be stopped, NOW!

Ayn Ryan. Need I say more? Does the very name not conjure up images of sophomoric late-night fraternity gab sessions, with everyone who knows nothing repeating the ridiculous and irrational rantings of the randy woman who considered herself the ideal individualist but who was, in fact, a twisted sister in love with the sound of her own voice? Thousands of naive college students read, analyzed, and internalized her false teaching and, as they grew older and wiser, cast it aside along with their frat paddle and their Homecoming corsages. However, there are a few who never managed to surmount the silliness and are parroting her gratuitous garbage to this day. Paul (Ayn) Ryan is a prime example of those who spout her gobbledygook in absolute confidence that the world will eventually recognize the wisdom in her words and join him in his comical, but dangerous, crusade. One can only hope that he turns off those Rand tapes that were recorded in his brain during his adolescence and re-acquaints himself with the writings of the thousands of wise and wonderful philosophers, scholars, and sages who truly spoke with intelligence and profound perception, and whose words echo down the corridors of time, giving us the incentive to be better than we've been and wiser than we were.

"My cup runneth over" as I watch and listen to all these good Christians repeat the wise and wonderful words left to us by Jesus, Mark, Matthew, Luke, and John, all of whom were men of color. Perhaps the realization of the fact that they were men of color had something to do with the election of Barak Obama in 2008 and, perhaps having seen the very humane and intelligent policies and principles that this man of color has promulgated, will encourage the voters to re-elect this very ethical and principled man in 2012. He, with his "kinky, wooly hair and feet of bronze," looks like the man we have celebrated, studied, and attempted to follow for 2000 years. How amazing that we have, as a society, decided to recognize the worth of this man and others like him. Perhaps we are finally growing up.

I can milk a cow and wash a separator; kill and dress a chicken and have it ready for dinner in the blink of a cat's eye; knit a sweater and block it to fit the intended wearer; identify a dyslexic and teach him/her how to read; make pecan pie cupcakes and serve them with panache and great joy; find my way through, in, and around airports in dozens of cities on several continents; hold an audience of hundreds of people spellbound for three hours at a time; keep a husband happy for 57 years; communicate with and adore 4 offspring and their 8 offspring, and still I can't remember how to navigate this blasted blogging business. How did I manage to do all of the aforementioned things without the benefit of blogging, and why in the name of Heaven am I blogging now? Face it, those of you who are over 75, the skills which, in your youth, you practiced so diligently to hone, are useless in the face of stampeding technology. Try not to cry.