Re: Guy from Texas
Posted: Sat Nov 23, 2013 11:41 pm
IMHO, as I mount my soapbox, offering apology in advance, the revival of social conservatism is our country's greatest illness, and culturally embodies the pettiness that lies to some extent in us all. The need to look down one's nose at another is part of the nature of human insecurity. It is the forces that exploit our insecurities, and the consequences of that power, that vary between the rural "heartland" and the metropolitan parts of this country. And while I would love to believe that it is a last death rattle of the old guard in America, it sure doesn't look like it from the POV of a rural southerner.
The rural south has had for ages the same mental disease that now infects the US Congress, i.e. the need to be "holier than thou" for the pompous Evangelicals, and "more conservative than thou" for the politicians. The disease is malignant and progressive. The single enduring accomplishment of the Tea Party, like a flag atop a mountain of failure, is making a large segment of Americans comfortable with their prejudices. Despite its claims about concern over big government and personal freedom, the heart of their social agenda is promoting an unstated theocracy. This happens by legislation where they are able, but more often simply by screaming louder and more fervently that those of us who once believed that society would gravitate toward reason and compassion.
Theocracy in the south is often legislated, but more often simply an unspoken and unwritten poison; it seeped into the fabric of our society long ago. When neighbor fears neighbor, when rational men suppress their natural callings, then theocracy has prevailed. It may come by hook or by crook, by legislation or by collective social pressure, but the effects are the same.
With ordinary politics, of course, there is always that margin of doubt, the space for compromise and for seeing another point of view. But in a society steeped in insidious and invisible theocracy, all decisions take on the essence of infallibility, as the self-righteous proclaim their deeds and beliefs as steered by the hand of the Almighty. It doesn't take much to understand that any extent of censorship, ostracism, and oppression then becomes justifiable and conceivable. And of course, there are always vultures waiting in the form of spineless politicians quick to exploit ideology that is being spoon-fed over the right-wing airways to those for whom reasoning is simply too much effort, those who crave constant reinforcement of belief, lest a shade of gray slip into the black and white reality they prefer. When unquestioned belief consistently triumphs over reason, have we cause to hope?
That sums up the society we face in this half of the country...one that has become even more vicious in just the years that I have corresponded here. But I digress.
The basic reason we don't skirt aggressively in small-town America is much deeper, and emotionally complicated. In a small town, there are long established family legacies. People have to deal with each other. People have to do business. And the expectations of behavior and decorum, no matter how hurtful and repressive we find them, color the fabric of the society. So for us, it becomes a matter of whether we behave in a way that may negatively affect those we love, respect, and care about...and who may not understand our longings any more than the others, or whether we put ourselves first and alienate many whom we dearly value. It is not an easy or clear cut matter, but part of our socialization is self-sacrifice for the sake of others. And for us, that means being careful what we wear, say or do, and where we do it, or in extremes, even closeted about it.
While those of you from more progressive and tolerant worlds may assert that we need to stand up and be the leaders in the region, and crusade for equality and tolerance, it simply points up the fact that you just don't know the people we are dealing with, or understand the impact of our choices on our lives and our own emotional constitution. So, before castigating us for our reluctance to be public with our desires, please remember: even the Great Crusades ultimately failed...
The rural south has had for ages the same mental disease that now infects the US Congress, i.e. the need to be "holier than thou" for the pompous Evangelicals, and "more conservative than thou" for the politicians. The disease is malignant and progressive. The single enduring accomplishment of the Tea Party, like a flag atop a mountain of failure, is making a large segment of Americans comfortable with their prejudices. Despite its claims about concern over big government and personal freedom, the heart of their social agenda is promoting an unstated theocracy. This happens by legislation where they are able, but more often simply by screaming louder and more fervently that those of us who once believed that society would gravitate toward reason and compassion.
Theocracy in the south is often legislated, but more often simply an unspoken and unwritten poison; it seeped into the fabric of our society long ago. When neighbor fears neighbor, when rational men suppress their natural callings, then theocracy has prevailed. It may come by hook or by crook, by legislation or by collective social pressure, but the effects are the same.
With ordinary politics, of course, there is always that margin of doubt, the space for compromise and for seeing another point of view. But in a society steeped in insidious and invisible theocracy, all decisions take on the essence of infallibility, as the self-righteous proclaim their deeds and beliefs as steered by the hand of the Almighty. It doesn't take much to understand that any extent of censorship, ostracism, and oppression then becomes justifiable and conceivable. And of course, there are always vultures waiting in the form of spineless politicians quick to exploit ideology that is being spoon-fed over the right-wing airways to those for whom reasoning is simply too much effort, those who crave constant reinforcement of belief, lest a shade of gray slip into the black and white reality they prefer. When unquestioned belief consistently triumphs over reason, have we cause to hope?
That sums up the society we face in this half of the country...one that has become even more vicious in just the years that I have corresponded here. But I digress.
The basic reason we don't skirt aggressively in small-town America is much deeper, and emotionally complicated. In a small town, there are long established family legacies. People have to deal with each other. People have to do business. And the expectations of behavior and decorum, no matter how hurtful and repressive we find them, color the fabric of the society. So for us, it becomes a matter of whether we behave in a way that may negatively affect those we love, respect, and care about...and who may not understand our longings any more than the others, or whether we put ourselves first and alienate many whom we dearly value. It is not an easy or clear cut matter, but part of our socialization is self-sacrifice for the sake of others. And for us, that means being careful what we wear, say or do, and where we do it, or in extremes, even closeted about it.
While those of you from more progressive and tolerant worlds may assert that we need to stand up and be the leaders in the region, and crusade for equality and tolerance, it simply points up the fact that you just don't know the people we are dealing with, or understand the impact of our choices on our lives and our own emotional constitution. So, before castigating us for our reluctance to be public with our desires, please remember: even the Great Crusades ultimately failed...