Hal Sparks - The Advocate March 30, 2004
In many ways, America lapsed back for the last few years into the England that the Puritans left: one church, one idea, one monarchy, all for the wealthy and none for the serfs, that kind of idea. And it doesn�t last very long before you get your Thomas Jeffersons popping up and going, �This is fucked. I�m not listening to you anymore, and for every one stupid lie you tell, I�ve got 10,000 honest reasons why it won�t work, why what you�re saying is wrong.� And I think that�s happening more and more.
In 1995, I remember very distinctly going, �What is it gonna take to get people to vote? What the fuck is the matter with people? Aren�t gay people and black people and Hispanic people and agnostics and Wiccans and the metaphysical people and the yoga people and all these people who care about the environment and the world and closeness and camaraderie�why the fuck are they sitting at home while all these old religious right nut cases in their walkers roll down there and keep Strom Thurmond in office until he�s nearly dead? What is it gonna take?� I�ll tell you what it�s gonna take: It took George Bush. He is the answer to our prayers on a liberal level, because he is a motivating factor.
In a superhero story, the hero is defined by his villain. If you have a weak villain, you will never use all your powers. And the minute the real villain shows up, you�re tested your mettle. He was necessary, because we were lazy. And that�s the truth, whether people like it or not. We made him. The left not wanting to get along and wanting to give the finger to anybody with any kind of religious beliefs because they viewed everybody as fanatical, eliminated anybody with a spiritual side, and allowed them to take the word �family values� when they definitely have family values: They value a white family that has a lot of money, and they value black families and gay families and Hispanic families that have a lot less money. Value is a sliding-scale word. It is a nondescriptive word. It�s generic. |
