Wolves In Sheep's Clothing

by Matthew Riemer, YellowTimes.org


October 07, 2002

At no other time in the brief history of the United States has the Democratic Party posed such a threat to American political ideals. The danger lies not necessarily in the actions of the party but in the beliefs that people hold about them.

The idea that the Democrats represent the "opposition party" is both laughable and depressing. Someone recently told me that they joined the Democrats because of their commitment to human rights and social justice. I almost spit my beer in their face.

Wake up all you lovers of partisan politics, all you believers in the American political process. The dream is over. The American experiment is winding to a catastrophic end at the dawn of the 21st century.

You know whom I'm talking about. All of you who, while holding back a sob or two, proudly utter the phrase, "President Gore."

All of you who mope about the "stolen election" while fantasizing about how much better things would be if Bush weren't in office.

All of you who rant on about the ills of the world, frequently invoking terms like "right-wing," "conservative," and "fundamentalist," only then to turn around and defend people like Bill Clinton and Al Gore.

You've all been had.

To believe in the Democrats while condemning the Republicans is the ultimate folly committable in these times. To defend them is to betray the very values one implicitly claims to uphold when criticizing the Republicans.

The vital issues that plague the world aren't found within the nuances of American domestic policies, but in the universal and timeless themes of human rights and sovereignty - personal, cultural, and national.

The Democrats went to war in Afghanistan. The Democrats are also going to war in Iraq, no matter how stirring the pockets of "dissent" may now seem; and they'll go to war in countless other countries as long as their elitist butts are riding high.

The Democrats didn't come to the rescue of the Palestinians, the East Timorese, the Chechens, or the countless peoples massacred in Africa over the last fifty years.

I wonder why? Oh, that's because they're committed to human rights and social justice.

People's persistent belief that there is a genuine difference between the two parties is symptomatic of a greater and fundamental misunderstanding of the word "debate" itself. Americans wouldn't know a "debate" if one kicked them in the crotch. Shall we go to war in October or November? Shall we begin the war with elite ground forces or an aerial bombardment? Give me a break.

The American political process has always been about debate and choice, but only within incredibly narrow limits. The scope of American politics is like an increment of one-sixteenth of an inch on a ruler: one has to squint to make sure it exists.

I'm beginning to wonder if the definition of Democrat is "a cynical euphemism for Republican."

Can't you see, America? There is no opposition party at all; the only one I know of is currently being pacified by rubber bullets and stormtroopers.

[Matthew Riemer has written for years about a myriad of topics, such as: philosophy, religion, psychology, culture, and politics. He studied Russian language and culture for five years and traveled in the former Soviet Union in 1990. In the midst of a larger autobiographical/cultural work, Matthew lives in the United States.]

Matthew Riemer encourages your comments: mailto:mriemer@YellowTimes.org

Source: http://www.yellowtimes.org/article.php?sid=759