I’m stupid enough to spend part of this morning watching highlights (if you can call them that) of the GOP debate last night. They took a video question from a gay soldier serving in Iraq, the question being would the candidates re-institute the Don’t Ask Don’t Tell policy.
Two things struck me. First, the audience booed. The actually booed a person who volunteered to serve his country–a person who is on active duty and serving in Iraq. Are you fucking kidding me? You don’t have to agree with a person’s beliefs or how that person lives his or her life to respect the fact that they’ve chosen to serve the nation in a low-paying job that offers not much more than a chance to get killed in some foreign country. Can you imagine the response if a Democratic audience booed an active duty member of the military?
Second, the question was answered by Rick Santorum. He complained that by allowing gay men and lesbians to serve openly in the military, the government was granting them “a special privilege.” A special privilege? Are you fucking kidding me? How is being allowed to serve in the military a special privilege? Were the people in the audience–the ones who booed–being denied the special privilege of putting on a military uniform and serving in Iraq? If so, we surely ought to make that privilege available to them.
Who the hell are these people? The ones who boo an active duty soldier, the ones who shout out that a person without health insurance should be allowed to die, the ones who cheer for the death penalty? How did they lose all their compassion? What’s made them so selfish and self-centered?
And what’s most desperately sad is they undoubtedly consider themselves to be patriots.
gregfallis.com 
It’s much easier to tear something down than build something up. That’s why significant, humanistic social change has always been a slow moving animal. It’s fighting against the powerful tide of greed, selfishness and prejudice. And when it arrives, it still has to withstand contant efforts to erode it. Gay rights and universal health care are two such battles.
It seems to me those people who boo gay soldiers and cheer for the death of those without health care are all about the tearing part and have little interest in building up. Unless, of course, it personally impacts them.
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It’s as hard to explain as republican strength in the poorest states. Living in Alabama I see this personally. The people who will suffer most from tea-partyism are the people who are the party’s strongest supporters. It makes no sense at all to me.
If compassion in the country isn’t dead, it’s etherized upon a table, as some guy once said.
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This is what happens when you devalue education and promote free unfettered enterprise. You end up with ignorance and greed.
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This makes my blood boil. I so agree with you.
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one of the joys of forgoing TV, even through streaming on the internet, is a saturation of stupidity that makes one wonder… what the hell is going on? the boos and cheers from the audience at these debates are… well debasing.
granted, this is a vocal minority with a very myopic grasp of life. but, sadly, this distortion is in line with the Socialist Nazi president, and all other utterances of the last few years.
at least we can vent in some way, since shaking the head is not therapeutic anymore.
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I absolutely agree with everything you said. Really, who ARE these people; I shudder to tthink that they are my neighbors, my co-workers, people sitting next to me in church. WTF has happened to us???
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Holy cow. I keep trying to find words, but they just fail me… What complete and utter wastes of resources these assholes are.
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Greg! This has nothing to do with this post. Having just been reminded of your existence, I realize that it’s been a long time since we talked, so I called the number I have on record for you. Also, I just got a new camera. To finally replace the C750-UZ I had all these years.
Have you been reading about Santorum being so upset at what comes up on a Google search of his name? Thank god for Dan Savage and small victories.
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