The piercing gaze of The Glittering Eye
David Schuler has sent e-mail, taking me to task for the last post:
"Where to start?
"'Is it a burning issue there?'
"I'm curious about what this reveals about what your
colleague thinks about homosexuality. Are Mississippians
immune? If a Mississippian realizes they are homosexual
do they immediately leave the state? Why would it be less
of an issue in Mississippi than in Florida? Or California for
that matter? Or could it be that it's an issue because the
freakin' Massachusetts Supreme Court made it a freakin'
issue by NARROWLY tossing out stare decisis and declaring
homogamy a right?
"'People do what their churches tell them to do'
"I guess that's why the Roman Catholic clergy is so upset that
so many Roman Catholics poll about the same on issues like abortion,
birth control, and general secularism as non-Catholics. Or that
a larger proportion of African Americans voted for Bush this time
around despite John Kerry campaigning from the pulpit in African
American churches for the last freakin' five weeks?
"Let's see how did that go? Denial, anger, bargaining, acceptance?
Or was it anger, denial, bargaining, acceptance? Whatever. Tell
me when acceptance rolls around so the rest of my stupid political
party will come to their senses and stop blaming the voters for bad
candidates, bad political positions, and bad strategies."
Ouch. Well said, Mr. Schuler. And here's the much-cited David Brooks Op-Ed:
"But the same insularity that caused many liberals to lose touch with the rest of the country now causes them to simplify, misunderstand and condescend to the people who voted for Bush. If you want to understand why Democrats keep losing elections, just listen to some coastal and university town liberals talk about how conformist and intolerant people in Red America are. It makes you wonder: why is it that people who are completely closed-minded talk endlessly about how open-minded they are?"
Speaking as someone who is both coastal and inhabiting a university town, I am taking this much to heart. No more mouthing off about redness and blueness here. Instead, I'll be listening to Bush voters explaining themselves and their votes.
"Where to start?
"'Is it a burning issue there?'
"I'm curious about what this reveals about what your
colleague thinks about homosexuality. Are Mississippians
immune? If a Mississippian realizes they are homosexual
do they immediately leave the state? Why would it be less
of an issue in Mississippi than in Florida? Or California for
that matter? Or could it be that it's an issue because the
freakin' Massachusetts Supreme Court made it a freakin'
issue by NARROWLY tossing out stare decisis and declaring
homogamy a right?
"'People do what their churches tell them to do'
"I guess that's why the Roman Catholic clergy is so upset that
so many Roman Catholics poll about the same on issues like abortion,
birth control, and general secularism as non-Catholics. Or that
a larger proportion of African Americans voted for Bush this time
around despite John Kerry campaigning from the pulpit in African
American churches for the last freakin' five weeks?
"Let's see how did that go? Denial, anger, bargaining, acceptance?
Or was it anger, denial, bargaining, acceptance? Whatever. Tell
me when acceptance rolls around so the rest of my stupid political
party will come to their senses and stop blaming the voters for bad
candidates, bad political positions, and bad strategies."
Ouch. Well said, Mr. Schuler. And here's the much-cited David Brooks Op-Ed:
"But the same insularity that caused many liberals to lose touch with the rest of the country now causes them to simplify, misunderstand and condescend to the people who voted for Bush. If you want to understand why Democrats keep losing elections, just listen to some coastal and university town liberals talk about how conformist and intolerant people in Red America are. It makes you wonder: why is it that people who are completely closed-minded talk endlessly about how open-minded they are?"
Speaking as someone who is both coastal and inhabiting a university town, I am taking this much to heart. No more mouthing off about redness and blueness here. Instead, I'll be listening to Bush voters explaining themselves and their votes.
posted by 
<< Home