Yup, we always vote for Republicans for president, and registered Republicans far out number registered Democrats in Kansas. But Daily Kos has kindly posted a map that shows a very blue Midwest, including a nice, light blue Kansas. The map reports on the results of state-by-state polling, measuring President Bush's job approval rating.
According to this, Bush isn't doing too well in what should be an overwhelmingly supportive Kansas with 53 percent of those polled disapproving of his job performance and only 43 percent approving of it. The poll was done between Nov. 11 and Nov. 13. and the results were posted Nov. 17.
Conducted by SurveyUSA and sponsored in Kansas by the Wichita CBS channel, KWCH, the poll surveyed 600 voting age adults in the state. Detail on Kansas can be found here.
Is this is an accurate reading of Kansans' sentiments, then a multitude of interesting questions arise about Bush's future, and the assumptions we continue to make about Kansas politics.
Wednesday, November 23, 2005
Tuesday, November 22, 2005
The lesbian and the fundamentalists
I am a lesbian, feminist, single mother whose spirituality is closer to New Age and Buddhism than Christianity. This spring I battled the constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage and civil unions in Kansas. Imagine my surprise when I realized how much I have in common with fundamentalists.
We don’t subscribe to the same theology or the same politics. We might scream at each other if forced into the same room for more than five minutes. However, we do share one important thing: We both sense a hole in our culture.
This hole is the empty place left by the absence of spirit, or if you prefer, religion in American society. It’s a hole created by a web of ideas that push people away from pursuing any form of spirituality. If a person is religious, this absence keeps many people, particularly those from the political left, from speaking out about their beliefs.
The hole is widened by the idea that if you can’t measure something it doesn’t exist. It’s deepened by the belief that anyone who is religious is deluded or superstitious and that no sane, educated person would be that way. More than that, this hole is turned into a chasm by the idea that religion has nothing to add to our struggle to survive in a post-9/11, post-Katrina world.
We live in a time where a subway ride can be a death sentence and our government – the so-called good guys -- condone torture. This is a time when the people we voted into power can’t even carry out the most basic of governmental tasks, which is to help people after a natural disaster.
Meanwhile, our jobs can be, or already have been, shipped overseas. Technology and culture change so quickly that even an old socially radical, Internet junkie like me can feel out of date in a matter of minutes. (They’re doing what at my son’s school? What the heck is a podcast?) All of this goes on, of course, against the backdrop of the heartbreak, illness and death -- the normal tragedies of life.
We stand on ground that’s shaking beneath our feet, and we have no way of knowing when this quake will end. In all of this, I can’t see how we can ignore anything that can bring us some perspective, maybe some solace, and perhaps even a bit of ethical or moral analysis.
More than that, I’m sick and tired of having to justify a belief that is as real to me as the twitter of birds or the crisp smell of fresh snow in my native Michigan. Pretending not to believe is like cutting off my arm and smiling while I hide the fact that I’m bleeding. It is no less destructive to my soul than hiding the fact that I’m a lesbian.
This blog entry is a plea, or perhaps even a challenge, to all those of a secular bent who think only fools have faith: Stop forcing me to lie. Stop ridiculing those who see a nonmaterial world where all you see is material. Stop claiming that talk of morality is based on immature superstition. We who believe are not necessarily your enemy any more than everyone who is secular is always your friend.
It’s not the believing that sets us up in opposition. It’s what we do with our beliefs.
This is where I part company with many fundamentalists. I believe there are many paths up the mountain to enlightenment, or if you prefer, to God. I believe there are many paths to morality, including secular paths.
The desperate need of some strands of Christianity and Islam to force people to live the same way they do, believe what they believe and to impose their laws on the rest of us is truly terrifying.
This is dictatorship at its worst. Whether imposed by violence, as some Islamic fundamentalists try to do, or by a political takeover, as some Christian fundamentalists want to do here, this impulse to mold everyone into one image could well destroy us all.
I stand in a decidedly odd place.
I am terrified of fundamentalism and the apparent need of some of its followers to destroy the religious freedom that is the foundation of this country. At the same time, I stand with my fundamentalist brothers and sisters in acknowledging the importance of faith and spirit.
As much as we disagree, we do have common ground. Perhaps that can yet save us all.
We don’t subscribe to the same theology or the same politics. We might scream at each other if forced into the same room for more than five minutes. However, we do share one important thing: We both sense a hole in our culture.
This hole is the empty place left by the absence of spirit, or if you prefer, religion in American society. It’s a hole created by a web of ideas that push people away from pursuing any form of spirituality. If a person is religious, this absence keeps many people, particularly those from the political left, from speaking out about their beliefs.
The hole is widened by the idea that if you can’t measure something it doesn’t exist. It’s deepened by the belief that anyone who is religious is deluded or superstitious and that no sane, educated person would be that way. More than that, this hole is turned into a chasm by the idea that religion has nothing to add to our struggle to survive in a post-9/11, post-Katrina world.
We live in a time where a subway ride can be a death sentence and our government – the so-called good guys -- condone torture. This is a time when the people we voted into power can’t even carry out the most basic of governmental tasks, which is to help people after a natural disaster.
Meanwhile, our jobs can be, or already have been, shipped overseas. Technology and culture change so quickly that even an old socially radical, Internet junkie like me can feel out of date in a matter of minutes. (They’re doing what at my son’s school? What the heck is a podcast?) All of this goes on, of course, against the backdrop of the heartbreak, illness and death -- the normal tragedies of life.
We stand on ground that’s shaking beneath our feet, and we have no way of knowing when this quake will end. In all of this, I can’t see how we can ignore anything that can bring us some perspective, maybe some solace, and perhaps even a bit of ethical or moral analysis.
More than that, I’m sick and tired of having to justify a belief that is as real to me as the twitter of birds or the crisp smell of fresh snow in my native Michigan. Pretending not to believe is like cutting off my arm and smiling while I hide the fact that I’m bleeding. It is no less destructive to my soul than hiding the fact that I’m a lesbian.
This blog entry is a plea, or perhaps even a challenge, to all those of a secular bent who think only fools have faith: Stop forcing me to lie. Stop ridiculing those who see a nonmaterial world where all you see is material. Stop claiming that talk of morality is based on immature superstition. We who believe are not necessarily your enemy any more than everyone who is secular is always your friend.
It’s not the believing that sets us up in opposition. It’s what we do with our beliefs.
This is where I part company with many fundamentalists. I believe there are many paths up the mountain to enlightenment, or if you prefer, to God. I believe there are many paths to morality, including secular paths.
The desperate need of some strands of Christianity and Islam to force people to live the same way they do, believe what they believe and to impose their laws on the rest of us is truly terrifying.
This is dictatorship at its worst. Whether imposed by violence, as some Islamic fundamentalists try to do, or by a political takeover, as some Christian fundamentalists want to do here, this impulse to mold everyone into one image could well destroy us all.
I stand in a decidedly odd place.
I am terrified of fundamentalism and the apparent need of some of its followers to destroy the religious freedom that is the foundation of this country. At the same time, I stand with my fundamentalist brothers and sisters in acknowledging the importance of faith and spirit.
As much as we disagree, we do have common ground. Perhaps that can yet save us all.
10 Comments:
More on Evolution & Bob Corkins
The Increasingly Unloved Board of Education
Not everyone in Kansas loves what the State Board of Education is doing. Criticism is beginning to come from conservative western Kansas and small towns as well as from the larger cities.
The new education commissioner, a former conservative lobbyist with zero education experience, and Connie Morris, one of the most conservative members of the board, toured western Kansas last week. The tour took them through a part of the state that might be expected to not only support the new ultra-right board’s actions, but to support Morris. Their tour was of her own district.
Apparently, though, the love wasn’t flowing. The Lawrence Journal-World reported Corkins and Morris Not Well Received, while the Garden City Telegraph noted that the Local Reaction Was Mixed.
Meanwhile, the newspaper in Iola, Kansas, (population of approximately 6,300) isn’t thrilled. Public Schools Get Radical Direction.
The Winfield Courier called Board Chairman Steve Abrams a “stranger to the truth.”
The new education commissioner, a former conservative lobbyist with zero education experience, and Connie Morris, one of the most conservative members of the board, toured western Kansas last week. The tour took them through a part of the state that might be expected to not only support the new ultra-right board’s actions, but to support Morris. Their tour was of her own district.
Apparently, though, the love wasn’t flowing. The Lawrence Journal-World reported Corkins and Morris Not Well Received, while the Garden City Telegraph noted that the Local Reaction Was Mixed.
Meanwhile, the newspaper in Iola, Kansas, (population of approximately 6,300) isn’t thrilled. Public Schools Get Radical Direction.
The Winfield Courier called Board Chairman Steve Abrams a “stranger to the truth.”
Monday, November 21, 2005
Ground Zero in the Culture War: Why This Blog Exists
By Diane Silver
The situation in the United States would be funny, if it wasn't so terrifying to those of us who are in the cross hairs of the religious right. To make matters worse, we - the Targeted -- are a group that seems to be growing by the minute.
It includes lesbians, gays, bisexuals and transgendered people, of course, along with feminists, liberals, secular Americans and those of us who call ourselves spiritual or New Age. The Targeted also include Buddhists, Hindus, Moslems and even Christians, or anyone else, who doesn't subscribe to a particular, ultra-conservative brand of religion.
I live in Kansas.
If there ever were a place that could be called ground zero in the culture war, this is it. Heck, we've even been the subject of a best-selling book on the topic, Thomas Frank's "What's The Matter With Kansas."
Written for blue-staters (at least, that's the way it reads to me), Frank's book made a good first attempt at explaining this culture-war phenomenon that's electing presidents and limiting the rights of the Targeted all over the country.
I found Frank's book to be frustrating, though. He provides one explanation for what's happening, but to my eyes his explanation seems a bit shallow. There's also little in the book that could help those of us engaged in this cultural struggle devise winning strategies.
Reading "What's The Matter With Kansas" along with recent political experiences (more on that later) left me with some hunches, many questions and the urge to flex my journalistic muscles more than a decade after I left the newspaper business.
So, here I am blogging. I want to use this blog to help myself, and perhaps others, understand what's really going on and to answer my questions.
The situation in the United States would be funny, if it wasn't so terrifying to those of us who are in the cross hairs of the religious right. To make matters worse, we - the Targeted -- are a group that seems to be growing by the minute.
It includes lesbians, gays, bisexuals and transgendered people, of course, along with feminists, liberals, secular Americans and those of us who call ourselves spiritual or New Age. The Targeted also include Buddhists, Hindus, Moslems and even Christians, or anyone else, who doesn't subscribe to a particular, ultra-conservative brand of religion.
I live in Kansas.
If there ever were a place that could be called ground zero in the culture war, this is it. Heck, we've even been the subject of a best-selling book on the topic, Thomas Frank's "What's The Matter With Kansas."
Written for blue-staters (at least, that's the way it reads to me), Frank's book made a good first attempt at explaining this culture-war phenomenon that's electing presidents and limiting the rights of the Targeted all over the country.
I found Frank's book to be frustrating, though. He provides one explanation for what's happening, but to my eyes his explanation seems a bit shallow. There's also little in the book that could help those of us engaged in this cultural struggle devise winning strategies.
Reading "What's The Matter With Kansas" along with recent political experiences (more on that later) left me with some hunches, many questions and the urge to flex my journalistic muscles more than a decade after I left the newspaper business.
So, here I am blogging. I want to use this blog to help myself, and perhaps others, understand what's really going on and to answer my questions.
- Are we on our way to creating a theocratic form of government in Kansas or the United States?
- Are the people of Kansas and other red states really ignorant and backward, or is something else going on?
- Are Kansans all that different from blue staters, or do we live in a place where moderate and progressive ideas haven't been promoted?
- In other words, did the religious right win the culture war in Kansas, or do they live in a state where the other side surrendered without a fight?
5 Comments:
- Mary said...
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I think the other side surrendered without a fight. But I'm hopeful enough to think that the other side (the one I'm on) is aghast at what's going on and will rise back up. It looks like people are pretty distraught by the arrogance of the state school board, and with any luck that distress will lead to changes. On the other hand, we've been on this pendulum ride before.
I'm happy you're starting this blog. I'll be watching it. - Silver said...
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Thanks for your support, Mary!
Anyone over the age of 40 - and I'm well over that - has been on this pendulum swing before. I think there's reason for hope, though.
You can see it in the anger at the state School Board that's increasing all over Kansas, for example.
I do wonder: What would happen if moderates poured the resources and time into red states like Kansas that they put into other states? Where would we be today if we actually worked at changing minds? - said...
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I can think of a couple of reasons why we on the other side at least appear to have surrendered without a fight: One, as my father (who is old enough to remember the Scopes trial) recently pointed out, we thought the fundamentalism expressed by the religious right was an old-fashioned belief, on its way out as people became better educated. Two, we were brought up to be polite about other people's religious beliefs, so we never argued with the underlying attitudes that led to the political power these people now wield.
- Silver said...
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Nancy Jane,
You make very good points. I suspect that a lot of folks thought that the practice of Religion-As-Domination had died out. I think the wish to dominate others is the true heart of the issue.
The point of contention isn’t whether or not one person’s religious belief is better than another, but whether we all have an equal right to practice our own version of religion.
Your second point is also interesting. As you said, we were brought up to be polite. I don’t want to argue or attack someone else’s religious belief.
However, what do I do if a key component of that other religion is the idea that I have to be converted? What if they think that they are not safe unless I agree with them?
It is a puzzling and distressing situation. If domination is the real issue, then what could the ultimate outcome be of this kind of fight except for one side to destroy the other?
I don't want that, and I truly wonder if that's what they want. I suspect not. I hope not. - Sue Lange said...
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Silver,
Having lived all my life in three blue states (Michigan, New York, and Pennsylvania), I want to point out that all three of these states register as blue, but at heart are red. Yes, even New York, is mostly red in square mileage, but not in population numbers. Kansas does not have the urban population center of Detroit, NYC, Philly and Pittsburgh. These are the blue centers for these states. The rest of the states are all rural and it is the rural mind that is red.
The question I have is not why are the red states red, but why are the rural inhabitants (i.e. farmers) so red? Personally I think it is because these people are not in contact with those that are different from themselves. They do not know people of a different faith, race, or sexual orientation (well that they know of, of course). They are in contact with their religious leaders and their government agencies and individuals that are pretty much just like themselves. Their government agencies frequently lie and manipulate them (consider the farm crisis which many blame on the USDA) and so there is a distrust of the government. There is a belief in many rural areas that this country is supported by the taxes paid by the people living in the rural areas and that most of the money goes to people that live in cities. In other words, everyone that is not like them is getting all the money that they are required to pay.
So you have religious leaders allying themselsves with Republicans who spout Christianity regardless of whether or not they practice it, and people willing to believe it all if it means the government will stop stealing their money to give it to the coloreds in the city.
Just like the southern Democrats did 50 years ago, current Republicans have embraced rural America and their religious beliefs telling them that they and they alone can keep them safe from the encroaching faggots, niggers, kikes, satanists, and liberals. It is up to the Others now to reach out to rural America and introduce themselves as the liberal homosexuals, African-Americans, atheists and Jews that they are. Once rural America sees that the Others are more like themselves than unlike themselves--we all hate the government after all--we can move beyond the Scopes' Trial. INMHO
Why Call a Blog “In This Moment?”
I suspect this isn’t exactly what most folks would expect a political blog to be called. It’s a tad Zen, isn’t it, to call a blog “In This Moment?”
The title is an acknowledgement that all we have in life is the moment we live in. Living mindfully in that instant, I believe, is a path to sanity and wholeness.
By Diane Silver
But the title is more than a nod to Zen practice. It’s a comment on the fact that politics and getting involved in a public debate can feel overwhelming. You want to make a difference, you want to solve a problem in society, but you’ve got a job, a family, a living room to paint and a lawn to mow. How can you find the time? What can you possibly do?
What you and I can do is to consider what action we can take in this moment.
That action could take the form of doing nothing more than reading one newspaper article, or spending 15 minutes on a blog to learn about an issue. It could mean writing one email to a legislator, making one phone call, or spending the five minutes it takes to join a political organization or make a donation online. The best action for this moment could be holding a friend who’s in despair, saying a prayer, or perhaps, to do nothing more than to pose this one question to yourself: How can I help?
The title is an acknowledgement that all we have in life is the moment we live in. Living mindfully in that instant, I believe, is a path to sanity and wholeness.
By Diane Silver
But the title is more than a nod to Zen practice. It’s a comment on the fact that politics and getting involved in a public debate can feel overwhelming. You want to make a difference, you want to solve a problem in society, but you’ve got a job, a family, a living room to paint and a lawn to mow. How can you find the time? What can you possibly do?
What you and I can do is to consider what action we can take in this moment.
That action could take the form of doing nothing more than reading one newspaper article, or spending 15 minutes on a blog to learn about an issue. It could mean writing one email to a legislator, making one phone call, or spending the five minutes it takes to join a political organization or make a donation online. The best action for this moment could be holding a friend who’s in despair, saying a prayer, or perhaps, to do nothing more than to pose this one question to yourself: How can I help?
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Hi, nice to see you blogging...I will be back often to hear what you have to say.
Take care,
-Mike Silverman
Mike! Thanks so much for the hello. Mike, isn’t Red Letter Day, your blog? Folks, go over and check it out at: http://www.mikesilverman.com/log.html
Great to see you blogging--I too will stop by often. -- LuAnn
I was just reading the Utne Reader in the grocery checkout line and saw an article on religion that you might find interesting. Apparently some Christian fundamentalists are coming around to your political point of view -- they're finding they have more in common with you than they used to think, too. The article was mostly about a guy named Donald Miller, who is apparently making a name for himself in Christian publishing, but whose political heart is on the left. You might want to check him out.
Thanks! I'll check that out.
Hi Dianne,
As a progressive Muslim, I find a lot of what you say resonates with me, both in this post and others. The determination that there is only one true way and we must encourage/force everyone to follow it, is a scary thought, especially in the times we live in where people of all faiths or lack there of are increasingly brought together.
I don't know if you are familiar with Tikkun and its attempts to form a Network of Spiritual Progressives (I think that is what they are calling it.). You might be interested in their work, if you haven't heard of them. I think it is so important for progressive people who are spiritual to come together to work for justice, tolerance, and harmony.
Pamela Taylor
(broad universe member)
(Wiscon regular)
Hi Pamela!
It's great to hear from you. We do live in frightening times, but I think there's also opportunity. Perhaps, we'll finally be able to confront the issue of religious tolerance in a positive way. I have to admit that getting to know you even as an acquaintance has helped smash some of my stereotypes about Muslims.
Thanks for the mention of Tikkun, http://www.tikkun.org/. I'm just becoming aware of their work.
Hi there,
This is a wonderful piece, Diane, and I love the line about there being many paths to morality. One thing that constantly occurs to me is that we need to find ways to talk to each other -- the lesbian to the Christian fundamentalist, the Jew to the Muslim -- across the divides. I've seen amazing things happen when when civil dialogue -- and real listening -- can happen.
Caryn
Hi Diane--I too live in Kansas and blog about some Kansas issues...
zwords.blogspot.com
Thanks for your informative posts and for your open-minded view.
--Eri
Thanks so much Caryn and Eri for your comments and for reading this!
I don't always succeed, but I want to makeIn This Moment a place where civil dialogue can thrive. I worry, though, that such an approach is a sure-fire way to fall into Blog Oblivion. It seems as if speaking in a civil tone isn't the best way to get noticed in the overcroweded blogosphere. It will be interesting to see if folks come to a place where politics, hope and respect share the page.