Open Writing

The American political arena has all the symptoms of a sick puppy with no immediate chance of survival unless radical and exceptional steps are taken to clean out the kennel in which it festers.

I have not the stomach to go into much detail, but the major thrust of those seeking to either hold on to political office or to secure one for themselves is to demonise their opponents.

Since I handed in my nursery blanket, the blue one with the fluffy bunny rabbit appliquéd on one corner, it has seldom been my lot to hear so much childishness, desperation, truth-twisting, or downright falsehoods marshalled against those they see as likely to succeed if they play nicely like good children.

A current political advertisement played by the republicans concerns Democratic representative Ann Kirkpatrick. It shows her walking out of a public meeting and castigates her for turning her back on her constituents and says she refuses to listen to their concerns. This is as mean as piece of political claptrap as it is possible to contrive.

The ad does show Kirkpatrick walking out of a public meeting, angry, and leaving the venue. The video-bite is so selective that it completely misrepresent the conditions that caused her to abandon the meeting. In the interests of truth, justice, and honour, I will restore the context and then we can judge fairly the behaviour of Ann Kirkpatrick.

It was during the time when Obama’s Health Care bill was being forged in the white heat of a do-nothing Republican party and their partners in naysaying, the Republican National Committee, when Democrat politicians held Town Hall meetings in their constituencies to explain what was involved in the intended health care reform bill.

Almost without exception these meetings were packed by vicious claques whose continuous din and shouting made free speech impossible for they drowned out every attempt by Democratic politicians to explain the proposals and to answer the questions of the bewildered that had gone to get answers.

The virulence, hatred, and disruption engineered by political brutes has to be seen to be believed. No other country in the world could have given rise to such mindless behaviour, especially no country that holds itself to civilised standards of behaviour.

After tolerating the ceaseless and angry din from vulgar men and women with distended and pulsating veins showing in their necks and foreheads, and attempting to address the meeting and speak to the concerns of those that attended to get answers, Ann Kirkpatrick did the only thing a sane person could do and that was to abandon the meeting. Remaining there would have served no purpose. The mob knew that and it was their intention to deny First Amendment rights to her.

What was hailed as a triumph for the unspeakable terrorists opposed to free speech for their political opponents has now been turned into diatribe against their victim, Ann Kirkpatrick.

This political mob has turned black into white, white into black, calls lies truth, and spreads its vicious message in never-ending waves of horror and fear across a frightened nation.

American deserves better, but until and unless Americans become fearless and boldly defend propriety, courageously insist that seemly conduct be curtailed, and insist on truth from its political machinery it will not get what it deserves, but will abandon the struggle and leave the field to those that would do the USA more harm than any attack it has yet suffered.

Sad to say, the calibre of diatribe, rant, and out and out malice that largely characterises the election campaigns at present underway in the Land of the Free would be more at home in the lunatic landscape of one that had lost all sense of chivalry, good manners, proper etiquette, and that had, perforce, adopted the alter ego of a flesh devouring monster, the Golem of Hebrew lore.

The USA is become the Land of the Golem. The main disability of the Golem is its inability to speak. The main disability of the modern politically animated Golems is their inability to speak peacefully, truthfully, and in respectful terms. In that sense, the rabbinical prototype was a more excellent creature because, being mute, it did not malign.

I have no wish to force a comparison too far but will push it a little further to the point where Golems were admitted to be mixed blessings. Being short of intelligence, when ordered to do something they interpret the instructions literally, but have been known to become unco-operative and rebellious, especially when their affections are rejected.

In a story about a Rabbi of Chelm, the Golem began to assert its independence and could only be stopped by deactivation. This meant amending the device written on its forehead by removing the aleph from the a-m-t, which is ‘emmet’ in Hebrew, on its forehead, the Hebrew for truth. Removing the aleph left m-t ‘met’ which is Hebrew for death. This modification was intended to stop the Golem in its tracks, but as it died it fell on the Rabbi and killed him. Similar devices can be recognised in the creature of Dr Frankenstein’s, and the Sorcerer’s Apprentice.

In the current American Golem narrative, political unrest has been fanned from small smouldering outbreaks into massive fires by the creation of armies of political Golems that have turned the tables on their masters and are out of control.

Glenn Beck, one such Golem maker has had to make an earnest plea to his followers to curtail their angry rhetoric. Had he set a better example he would not have unleashed tidal waves of blind anger across the nation. Violent speech leads to violent acts and there are plenty of these, and further danger of more and worse to come.

To be subjected to this never ending political furore is to experience pain, to know disgust, and to long for peace. Therefore, it was a breath of fresh air to read a guest op-ed piece in the local newspaper in which every word sounded as if it had been written by a saint.

It centres on the principle of ‘himdag,’ a new word for me, but one with an ancient pedigree that fills a present need. Himdag is a word used by Native American tribes, including the Akimel O'Odham, the Pee Posh, Sacaton, Komatke, Santan, and Blackwater Indians and means respect.

This respect is of a kind so profound that it falls just short of adoration in everyday English, yet himdag is not offered to Gods, but to the others.

The Governor of the Gila [say ‘Heela’] River Indian Community, William Rhodes, says, "Respect as a guiding principle sounds old fashioned in the 21st century, but it exists all the same – even when our community is compelled to sign its name to a lawsuit against the United Stated Department of the Interior."

The lawsuit challenges the legality of one of their ‘sister tribes’ that has secretively and, it is maintained, illegally bought up land on that belongs to the Community represented by Governor Rhodes, in order to build a gambling casino on it.

The thrust of the lawsuit is that the Tohono O’Odam in league with the federal government has disrespected the rule of law and thus the balance so carefully struck among Indian gaming tribes, the Gila River Indian Community, the city of Glendale, and ‘every Arizonan.’

It is claimed that normal rules and guidelines set in place for establishing Indian casinos have been ‘sidestepped.’ Mr Rhodes says that ‘seeing that balance upset, and seeing one tribe use secrecy and legal manoeuvring to benefit at the expense of every other tribe and our state – is difficult to comprehend, let alone stand for in silence."

The Gila River Community has taken its case to federal court to have it enforce the gaming laws evenly in all cases. Without reference to the merits of the case or the circumstances that made it necessary, I was transfixed by William Rhodes’ sagacious use of himdag as he closed his opinion piece.

"As for our sister tribe, I know our disagreement is temporary. Himdag has place of supreme importance in their culture too. I would like to believe that their leadership will rediscover their way soon enough. I believe we can achieve more together than apart and that greed should never be allowed to trump respect for all things."

Men and women, especially those embroiled in the present nauseating political situation that speak hatred with with forked tongues, take note, and serve the nation, aiding its restoration by rediscovering and conforming your hearts, words, and actions to the sacred and humanising principle of himdag.

God bless America, open eyes blind with hate, stop mouths filled with lies, and guide its people to embrace Himdag before it is too late even for Almighty God to save it from itself.

© 2010 – Ronnie Bray

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