Hoist With Their Own Petard

It's been a while since I posted anything. 

Truth be told, I have found it almost impossible to find words which adequately express my revulsion at seeing the members of the once-proud Party of Lincoln beat the drum of simplistic populism in an odious attempt to destroy the presidency of Barack Obama through a campaign of thinly-veiled bigotry parading as patriotism.

But the passage of health care reform legislation suggests that the use of such tactics offers no guarantee of either political or popular success.

To be sure, the legislation is imperfect, and the process was messy. However, that is a testament to the strength, not the weakness, of a country whose population is so diverse as to merit being called The Melting Pot.

Americans may be dumb, but they're not stupid. Like all humans, they want the assurance of permanent ease promised in the simplistic myths spun by their self-serving leaders. Eventually, however, they recognize that the path to truth and genuine freedom demands not their blind adherence to the norms of the past but a leap of faith to the promise of a better though uncertain future.

Those who have learned this lesson are speaking out on behalf of that promise, and their voices offer a clear, eloquent, and intelligent contrast to the words of derision and divisiveness embraced by the fear and hate-mongers of the radical right.