Personal Dispatch From USAISTAN
This morning's newspaper contained a review of Pamela Constable Random's book:Playing with Fire: Pakistan at War with Itself.
The review included the following quotes:
" ...(M)any Pakistanis feel they have no power.
They see the trappings of representative democracy
but little tangible evidence of its working in their lives."
(While Pakistan is not a theocracy
competing versions of Islam play a central
and divisive role in the lives of the people.)
"Its citizens receive a barrage of confused messages
about what it means to be a Muslim.
In my "Private Idaho" i feel i do not understand how democracy any longer can benefit minorities as government intrudes more and more into the minds of men and the bodies of women. As a member of a political and ideological minority i feel that my interests are less honored in the United States than they would be most other countries in the world. I am also puzzled that the Christianity which is professed by over seventy percent of the population, and which many claim is and should be the basis of our culture, is so contradicted by our political opinions, our voting patterns, and our governmental policies. I long ago learned that my vote does not count. In retirement i learn more and more that my opinion does not count either. My free speech is guaranteed among my small circle of friends and on LJ (so long as the site is not attacked). But honest expression of nonconforming opinion is risky in public fora in Idaho. One must truly not care what others think of him, a great attitude which have difficulty maintaining.
I have had to learn this. Every country is the greatest country on earth to the significant number of the people who live there. There is little point in criticizing some other country in terms of some supposedly universal standard. I am coming to think that it is not
permissible to criticize one's own country except in terms of carefully defined rules./
In the Untied States those rules allow criticism from the right about the U.S. not being "conservative" enough; criticism from the left seems tantamount to treason. Republicans are allowed to say that liberals are trying to destroy the country (which, i, a radical, may quibble with). Democrats are not allowed to say that conservatives are trying to destroy the country (which i, a radical, know to be true.)
We are being bombarded by pre-primary electioneering pamphlets. Democrats are apologizing for being democratic while Republicans seem to be telling me that i should be happy if i get to keep my guns and hate homosexuals. One candidate stands for "Limited Values and Family Government" Oh, wait, i'm sorry, that's Limited Government and Family Values * (but then in practice its hard to tell one from the other.)
* (or perhaps its Limited Family and Government Values, i really can't remember)
The review included the following quotes:
" ...(M)any Pakistanis feel they have no power.
They see the trappings of representative democracy
but little tangible evidence of its working in their lives."
(While Pakistan is not a theocracy
competing versions of Islam play a central
and divisive role in the lives of the people.)
"Its citizens receive a barrage of confused messages
about what it means to be a Muslim.
In my "Private Idaho" i feel i do not understand how democracy any longer can benefit minorities as government intrudes more and more into the minds of men and the bodies of women. As a member of a political and ideological minority i feel that my interests are less honored in the United States than they would be most other countries in the world. I am also puzzled that the Christianity which is professed by over seventy percent of the population, and which many claim is and should be the basis of our culture, is so contradicted by our political opinions, our voting patterns, and our governmental policies. I long ago learned that my vote does not count. In retirement i learn more and more that my opinion does not count either. My free speech is guaranteed among my small circle of friends and on LJ (so long as the site is not attacked). But honest expression of nonconforming opinion is risky in public fora in Idaho. One must truly not care what others think of him, a great attitude which have difficulty maintaining.
I have had to learn this. Every country is the greatest country on earth to the significant number of the people who live there. There is little point in criticizing some other country in terms of some supposedly universal standard. I am coming to think that it is not
permissible to criticize one's own country except in terms of carefully defined rules./
In the Untied States those rules allow criticism from the right about the U.S. not being "conservative" enough; criticism from the left seems tantamount to treason. Republicans are allowed to say that liberals are trying to destroy the country (which, i, a radical, may quibble with). Democrats are not allowed to say that conservatives are trying to destroy the country (which i, a radical, know to be true.)
We are being bombarded by pre-primary electioneering pamphlets. Democrats are apologizing for being democratic while Republicans seem to be telling me that i should be happy if i get to keep my guns and hate homosexuals. One candidate stands for "Limited Values and Family Government" Oh, wait, i'm sorry, that's Limited Government and Family Values * (but then in practice its hard to tell one from the other.)
* (or perhaps its Limited Family and Government Values, i really can't remember)