Emotion Versus Gravity

Melissa, guesting over at Right Wing News:

Can identity politics get any more ridiculous? In trying to establish cred with minorities, civil rights leader Andrew Young says what could be nominated for the most ridiculous quote this electoral season:

In a media interview posted online, Young also quipped that Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Rodham Clinton has her husband behind her, and that “Bill is every bit as black as Barack.””He’s probably gone with more black women than Barack,” Young said of former President Clinton, drawing laughter from a live television audience. Young, 75, was quick to follow his comment on Bill Clinton with the disclaimer, “I’m clowning.”

Are you kidding me?Imagine if you will, a live televised talk extolling Rudy Giuliani’s prowess with Latino women. Imagine the hew and cry on the Right, never mind the Left. It would be perceived as racist, because, well, it’s racist.

Well, what I think you’re missing, is that for liberals, arguments don’t actually have to make sense.  They have to make emotion.  Which, I hasten to point out, is why liberal arguments ten to fall apart when analyzed.  They are not designed for analysis.  Emotion carries the day.

Look, I’m not suggesting for a minute that we should all be Spock.  But we should let logic enter our lexicon, particularly when we’re talking about national leaders, whose decisions, be they good or bad, can affect so many people.

Expanding the thought; Billy Beck has often made a point, both to me in private mail, and in public comments on his site,  that one of the most disastrous aspects of voting is the gravity of the decisions being made with other people’s lives, and other peoples wherewithal.  While I tend to disagree with him and his attitude of avoiding such altogether on moral grounds, I think I ought to point out that Americans don’t take the responsibility with nearly the gravity they ought.  Billy’s got that much right; it’s a hell of a big responsibility , this voting business.  Most people don’t understand that.

The situation that Melissa notes in her post is to my mind part and parcel of that lack of seriousness.  That lack of gravity.

Frankly, also symptomatic of that lack of gravity, is the entire concept of identity politics….  The concept that so long as  someone is of my race, or my religion, or are my gender, that they’re the better person to represent me, and mine. I reject the concept outright.  Alas, most Americans do not. Hence, do we have Hillary Clinton, and Barack Obama arguing not about substance of policy, but gender and race identity politics.

Makes no sense to me, but there it is.  That’s what America is up against.