Category Archives: politics

Purity and Extremism

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I recently posted a review of Reza Aslan’s book Beyond Fundamentalism and explained how he takes to task all versions of extremism, though his focus was on Islamic fundamentalism.

He addressed the purity emphasis of the Jihadist movement, noting that the Jihadists “consider themselves to be the only true Muslims. All other Muslims are imposters or apostates who must repent of their ‘hypocrisy’ or be abandoned to their fate.” He goes into great detail re the rivalry and hostility within the Muslim extremists as each sect tends to attempt to set itself apart as “the true Muslim” faith.

I’m personally sensitive to this type of lunacy as I grew up in a Southern conservative Christian sect which taught that it was the only true church. And within that sect there was the same “purity” emphasis which included, of course, moral purity but also doctrinal purity. The latter in particular often gave rise to dissension and “splitting” of churches.

Purity is a dangerous notion.  But when it is overly emphasized, one needs to beware as lunacy is beckoning. To be human is to recognize ambivalence, to recognize the presence of good and bad in all human hearts. Those that can’t handle ambivalence gravitate toward some form of extremism.

I strongly recommend Mary Douglas’s book, Purity and Danger.  Douglas approaches the purity notion from an anthropological stance and provides insight into its origin and function in tribal cultures.  And her observations are relevant to our particular “tribe”.

Group think and lunacy

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Here is the most brilliant sociological analysis of group-think and the lunacy that it can lead to.  It features Tom Hanks, Chris Farley, Michael Myers, and the rest of the SNL gang from the early 90’s.  You must watch this as it is hilarious but also will bite you in the but for all human’s have this tendency to isolate themselves in the comfort of a smug group.  (Unfortunately, you will have to copy and paste the link into your address bar.)

http://www.nbc.com/saturday-night-live/video/mr-belvedere-fan-club/1354072/

 

Conservative-Liberal impasse

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The meaning of “conservative”, at least in the political sense, means “to conserve.” The conservative presence is any culture wants to protect the status quo, including religion, politics, social mores, and economics. This is a valid historical phenomenon and needs respect. In its extreme, this “conservative” presence wants not only to maintain the status quo, but wants to do so with a vehemence. It fact, it often would like to return to an earlier, halcyon day when, in our case, “truth, justice, and the American way” prevailed.

The liberal presence wants change in the aforementioned categories. It sees the status quo as problematic and wants to bring about changes, often sweeping changes. If this force is not checked, it too can lead to problems.

When these two forces work in tandem, a society will have a dynamic quality that is necessary. When they are at loggerheads, problems are in the offing. If there can be no compromise, if there can be no respect for each other, then historically catastrophe has often been in that offing.

As Rodney King said, “Why can’t we just all get along.”

Reza Aslan on fundamentalism

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I am now reading for the second time Reza Aslan’s book, Beyond Fundamentalism: Confronting Religious Extremism in the Age of Globalization. Aslan, an Iranian born American citizen, explores fundamentalism of all stripes though his main focus is on Islamic fundamentalism. He thoroughly explores some of the basic concepts of fundamentalism and how that when core beliefs are taken to an extreme, the consequences can be severe.
For example, he notes that the word “jihad” in Arabic means simply, “a struggle” and comes from the verb “jihada” which means, “to strive for something.” Aslan argues that the word in its context implies “a struggle against the self, against one’s passions and instincts and the temptations that oppress the soul.” But that is a far cry from the popular meaning of the term in today’s world. This demonstrates how easy it is for anyone or any group to take a simple word or concept and interpret it to fit their own ends.
Ideologues of any stripe are dangerous people. If you run into one, give them wide birth! Unless, of course, it happens to me moi!
Aslan’s exegesis of the term jihad reminds me of Proverbs 25:28: He that hath no rule over his own spirit is like a city that is broken down and without walls. And of course we know what happened back then if the walls of a city were broken down. The enemy could get in.

Turkey and Westernization

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I am reading another book by a Turkish author, this time a female, Elif Shafak. She is a popular novelist in Turkey though this particular book, Black Milk, is a memoir regarding “Writing, motherhood, and the harem within.” Earlier in my blogging life, I “held forth” re another Turkish author, Orhan Pamuk, especially his novel, The Museum of Innocence. My selection of these two authors arose from a day I was fortunate to spend in Istanbul last spring where I marveled at the beauty of their country, the kindness of their people, and the pronounced Westernization of their culture.

When I got home last spring, I quickly did some “Wiki-pedi (ing)” of Turkey and of course their famous leader from the early 20th century, Kamel Ataturk. I did further on-line reading this morning re Ataturk and am even more astounding at how he brazenly ruled that country and almost single-handedly decided to put in on the course of “Westernization.”  Incidentally, the novels of Pamuk in particular frequently allude to this transformation of his country and often evoke a sense of sadness over the loss that many people still feel in his country as a result of Ataturk’s iron-fisted, though apparently benign, rule. I think the psycho-social terms for these feelings include “anomie”, “unrootedness”, “alienation”, and “depression.”

Part of me pines for the days when a country’s leader could, by force of will (personal and political), shape the direction of his country. I think of the many good things that someone like O’Bama could do if he had the power. But that is because, of course, I’m a liberal Democrat; and if O’Bama had this power then so could the next fellow/fellow-ess. That is not the world that we live in any more. That kind of power is a thing of the past…other than in totalitarian countries of course!

Unfortunately, we are now left with a mess, a partisan political environment in which significant changes cannot be made.

Let me close with a quotation from Ataturk which reflect his pronounced Western viewpoint:

Humankind is a single body and each nation a part of that body. We must never say ‘What does it matter to me if some part of the world is ailing?’ If there is such an illness, we must concern ourselves with it as though we were having that illness.

Gosh I hope Rick Perry checks in here today.

Republican identity crisis

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It is fun to watch the Republicans re-define themselves even though that is not what they had, or have, in mind.  They have a real identity crisis on their hands and I hope I live long enough to see how it ends up.  They are now poised to nominate Romney and he is so foreign to their ideals.  And in their virulent hatred of him and what he represents, they have been forced to attack basic Republican ideals, i.e. standard “business” practices.

But re-definition is good for us all and is applicable to all political parties and all concerns.  As T. S. Eliot noted, “We wrestle with words and meanings” and one purpose in life is to “purify the dialect of the tribe.”

Now this is really mean-spirited of me.  But all of you….ahem, both of you…know that mean spiritedness is not above me—I just love the notion that extreme right-wing, bible-thumping, fundamentalist Christians might have to choose between Mitt Romney (a “Mormon”) and a liberal Democrat who happens to be a “black man.”  That will put them in a tough spot.  My money is on the liklihood they will vote for “the Mormon” over “the black man.”  Yes, that delimma will get their panties in a wad.

Narcissim and arrogance of GOP

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Newt Gingrich recently declared that his nomination for the GOP nomination was certain. I’m just appalled at his brazen arrogance but that kind of chutzpa has a definite place in the contemporary Republican party. We all have flashes of narcissism in which we are too sure of ourselves but usually we self-monitor and do not announce our childish whim, realizing that we appear arrogant and over-confident. We have the whim but on some level we immediately pause and say to ourselves, “Now how would this sound to others?”

There is another example from a GOP debate in September. Health care for the indigent was being discussed and Ron Paul was asked about the issue. Wolf Blitzer posed the question to Paul, “What do you tell a guy who is sick, goes into a coma and doesn’t have health insurance? Who pays for his coverage? Are you saying society should just let him die?” Immediately someone from the Tea Party audience yelled, “Yeah” and that was immediately followed by another “yeah” and then thunderous applause. The candidates were silent for a moment, realizing that the crowd response was really awkward.

Now, I would think that the Tea Party crowd would have realized just how awkward it would appear to applaud and cheer for the hypothetical death of another human being. But “self-monitoring” is not their strong suit and they burst into applause. It was kind of like an earlier debate when the crowd cheered that Rick Perry’s state, Texas, was “leading the league” in executions.

Herman Cain’s homecoming

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Well, Herman Cain has spent the night at home with his wife of 37 years.  Boy, did they have lots to talk about.  I wish C-Span could have had its camera there.

I have a suggestion for SNL tonite re how to sketch this homecoming. The sketch would show him walking up to the door of his house, pizza in one hand and a huge King James Bible in the other.  He would attempt to unlock the door and the key would not fit.  He would then knock, first tentatively and then firmly.  After an awkward moment, Gloria would open the door, looking disheveled with a shot glass in her hand.  “Honey, I’m home,” he’d announce with enthusiasm  . Seriously, he has steadily demonstrated that he is in over his head and I’m not even talking about the bimbo factor. I think of him as occupying the Sarah Palin chair of the Republican campaign, triumping for that honor even over the formidable candidacy of Michelle Bachman.

Back during the late summer, early fall, the Republican Party should have put all of them on a flatbed truck and carted them around the various county fairs in the deep South.  It would have been quiet a show.  It would have created a real delimma for me though, forcing me to choose between the GOP candidates and the two-headed woman and the conjoined twins.

 

Republicans in a delimma

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The report today is that the unemployment rate has improved, dropping to a 2.5 year low. Recently there are several indications that the economy is improving. And that is not even counting the huge boost in the stock market a couple of days ago and the one that is expected today. This news puts the Republicans in an awkward position. Their leading “candidate” in the election of 2012 is a poor economy. And they went out of their way early in the O’Bama administration to emphasize that they “hope he fails.” I know that as they see the economy stirring a little, they must be privately saying to themselves and to each other, “Oh shit!” This attitude they have demonstrated is really embarrassing. In addition to announcing, “I hope he fails” they have opposed any effort along the way to get the economy going.

Now, O’Bama is still in deep trouble. A Republican victory in November 2012 is quite feasible. It would be so funny if the GOP does win if Democrat leaders would come out and smarmily announce, with pronounced irony and facetiousness, “We hope he fails!” I personally cannot imagine “I hope he fails” coming to my mind should the Republicans win though I will surely announce it to tease my Republican friends. That attitude is absolutely deplorable. And, I don’t think the Democrats are currently exploiting that Republican mind set enough.

Marilynne Robinson and the Transitoriness of life

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I have written before about one of my favorite contemporary American novelists, Marilynne Robinson. Two of her books are Housekeeping (my favorite) and Gilead for which she won a Pulitzer Prize in 2005. But she recently posted an article in The Nation entitled “Night Thoughts of a Baffled Humanist” and there demonstrated an ability to astutely address our world’s political and economic issues.

She brings what I call as cosmic perspective to the messes we are in:

Say that we are a puff of warm breath in a very cold universe. By this kind of reckoning we are either immeasurably insignificant, or we are incalculably precious and interesting. I tend toward the second view.

She sees our species as a very vulnerable creature at a very precarious point in our history. She brings to mind W. H. Auden’s description of us as creatures, “clinging to the granite skirts of our sensible old planet.” From this “cosmic perspective”, we are all “humans” and our primary identity with various and sundry nation-states is specious at best. The only way to successfully address our collective issues is to realize that we are all in the “mess” together and even more so, to borrow on old bromide, “none of us are gonna get out alive.” Therefore, our best efforts should be to work toward making this a more hospitable home for our children and for their children so that they can have even more fun in the brief moment they are allowed to cavort about on “this sensible old planet.”