Saturday, July 11, 2009

The Republican Elephant: An Icon of FEAR?



The United States of America has its own unique icon for fear, paranoia and obtuseness. Though constantly disguised and masked by its owners to conceal its true character, the actual nature of this icon sometimes unexpectedly reappears in the national consciousness. I refer of course to the iconic Elephant symbol for the US Republican Party.

One wonders how the symbol of this huge beast, famously afraid of any tiny mouse, came to be an icon for a national political party. Perhaps it is just simple obtuseness, but more likely it is simply a freudian manifestation.

After the inauguration of GW Bush. Fear, paranoia and obtuseness aggressively ruled the national 'shtick' for eight full years and beyond. It is now obvious this motivated and ruled our 'leaders', who in turn ruthlessly employed fear and paranoia as weapons of propaganda against the country at large.

Only now are we beginning to perceive even a partial extent of the resulting damages.

And, just as most characters are resistant to change, so too the Republican Party is still ruled by fear - but perhaps 'cowardice' may be a better term. There are many examples, but perhaps none so illustrates this idea than the (non)actions of the respective state and the national party following the sensational news regarding the governors of South Carolina and Alaska. There has been an absolute blizzard of news, blogs, media coverage of the two governors, but nary a single word from their own states' Republican Parties. None, nothing, nada, zippo, blanko.

Neither states' Republican parties, and especially the National Republican Party has found the basic political courage to speak up or out about the narcissistic excesses of their respective governors since their respective meltdowns.

Incredibly, the Alaska Republican Party website's last news item is dated May 7, 2009 - over two months ago. NOT ONE WORD about Palin's abrupt resignation - and one might think that would be news to resonate amongst Alaska's Republicans.

And the South Carolina's Republican Party? NOT ONE SINGLE WORD either, since June 24, 2009, the day before their governor went AWOL. Apparently this qualifies as non-news to SC Republicans.

Not to be outdone, or perhaps 'undone', the National Republican Party website offers helpful advice to Obama about 'losing support', and why the health care plan is stalled in Congress, and information on the Cap In Trade bill. NOTHING about the two most sensational political stories in the nation at this time:

And everything THE GOP offers is characteristically in opposition to any progress forward - apparently now a universal Republican stock in trade, making said party widely known as the "Party of No".

I think a more fitting phrase for Republicans these days might be the ancient Latin phrase, 'ex nihilo nihil fit' which translates to: "Out of nothing, comes nothing".

I sincerely hope the Republican Party can regain some of the courage of Abraham Lincoln, and rejoin the rest of us to benefit our nation. It is very sad to see them cowering from so much fear these days. Ignoring something in the hopes it will go away doesn't make it go away.

"Ignorance may be healed with education, but stupidity has no cure"

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