By definition, a conservative is a reactionary, a person that harkens back rather than embrace forth. Turning back to look at history is necessary, but when it is used as the only guide for ideology, policy, and personality, it creates, as Marx called it, a "nightmare on the brains of the living."
America is a young nation, by comparative standards. As a young political entity it is still maturing. Looking back to its history is looking at immaturity, youthful recklessness, and mistakes we have (overall) tried to learn from. Some still linger, and they are not static. They transform, they adapt. Such as racism.
McCain and Palin have done what many Obama supporters feared once Obama declared his candidacy: The election will be a referendum on our historical racial struggles. If he loses or, God forbid, he wins but is denied the office by a bullet, it would be another nail in the coffin, further proof that all our so-called success in race relations has been a farce. Recent events have hinted to the unsettling truth that racism in America has not disappeared but transformed into a creeping beast. Events such as Katrina, Jenna 6, xenophobia against the predominantly Latino immigrants, post 9/11 Arab fear, and the unnerving racial tinge of the Clinton's attacks that turned off the African-Community, a stalwart Clinton block, are proof we still have ways to go.
The Senator from Arizona and The Governor from Alaska have created a new beast at their rallies and in their rhetoric. They have let loose a dog that they never really understood, and much less controlled. "Kill Him!", "Terrorist!", "Off with his head!", "Traitor!", are now the battle cries from supporters that shape their rallies. Their continued attacks on Obama's "terrorist" associations, their continued insinuation that Obama is not a "proud American" (maybe not an American at all), their furious attempt to make Obama a man shaped by his tacit, barely existent associations with former enemies of the state, are not only disgraceful, they are murderous.
Obama is at a point not many thought he would be less than a month away from Election Day. He is leading the polls against a decorated war hero and a engrossing female politician nationally and in critical swing states. He is extending his lead as each day goes by. Save a disastrous gaffe or a momentous swing in McCain's direction, he is a step away from the White House. This is what makes things scarier. McCain, Palin, and all those who love their cause or fear Obama's person are now in a corner. As Lao Tzu noted, "Indeed be fearful of the enemy who is cornered with no way out".
Palin transformation into an incendiary figure is yet another surprise in this dramatic election. Palin has become The Joker of this political season, lending a cheery, innocent facade to a mean-spirited, hateful interior. If Palin is doing all this to prepare for her own bid in 2012, she is doing a masterful job. Her support has grown from the sparsely populated state of Alaska to a coast-to-coast fanbase that would make Reagan proud. However, her base is predominantly is made up of the worst kind of conservative: the scorned reactionary. They have been wronged, either by the government, minorities, or even McCain-type of politicians, and now they want a take-over. Palin is helming a movement much like Obama is, but hers is looking for regress, not progress; her movement is looking to go upstream, back through history, not to embrace the future.
Part of that history includes some shameful moments. Much of that shame is being recycled this year and thrown against Obama. McCain and Palin are indeed true conservatives, but only in the fact they resent the future. With cries from their riled up supporters to kill "that one", one cannot help but fear they may not be bluffing. They might end up being successful in hanging up the future.
lhp
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