As a part of the health care debate, the August town halls revealed the new meme now circulating throughout the conservative fear-based congregation, and that is that some how the country that everyone once knew is now somehow changed, because of President Obama, and all they know is they want their country back. It is hard to determine what their country is, some have speculated that it about race, meaning I (White Person) want my country (White person leading this country) back. Then there are those that say that it is merely the socialism or government take-over meme being played out these people's heads and they are wanting "my country" to mean, capitalism, or rather a perceived sense of a laissez-faire capitalism. There is also the now infamous woman who cried President Obama was not an American citizen and then cried "I want my Country back", so there is a perspective of an illegitimate government a cry for that to be brought back, to understand the inter-workings of a birther, you can read more about it in my previous diary about race in American.
In this entry, I will look at this new meme, and look at the perception these people feel, that is behind it. I will begin with some major examples of the use of this meme.
These people seem like everyday Americans, who (as the conservative fear mongers want us to believe) have just been fed up with their Government, and finally had enough. But it seems kind of odd, considering the Government they want to go back to (Perspicaciously the government under President Bush) was just as expansive, and had just as many negative results (If not more) economically, and was far more overbearing on it's people. But that begins to cut to the core of the people who subscribe to the mantra of tea bagging, they prefer a totalitarian government, who will impede on civil liberties, as long that government is pro-life, pro-guns, anti-gay marriage, and possibly ran by a white man. These people may not understand why they feel that way, or even think they do, but hidden in their unconscious mind is the feeling for an overbearing power in Washington, that will tell the people they don't like, what to do, while at the same, feeling some animosity towards African-Americans.
They will hide their settlement for an almost dictator based government, by saying it's about Christian morals, but anyone who actually has studied the word of God, and of more importantly Jesus (Which I have intensively), you will see that it is not the place of man to judge another man for his sins, barring God and Jesus, and so it is not the place of the Government to tell people, what they can or cannot do, no matter their religious views, so really it is a hidden feelings that they gained from their preachers and brain-washers in the right-wing media, that tell them that homosexuals should not be allowed to decided if they want to spend the rest of their life together in marriage, or tell women what they can or cannot do with their own bodies, it's an unconscious hatred, that is not based in the Christian to which I know or subscribe to.
The racial settlements are based more on what they are being told to believe. Most of them have a serve prejudice against African-Americans, mostly caused by what they have always been told, rather than what they see. They are told that African-Americans are lazy, thieves, etc. and so when they see that the person leading this country is an African-American, they automatically make the connection that he is not what he perceives to be, basically they can't allow for the idea of an African-American being a strong leader, safe minded, or intelligent enough to be able to lead this country.
But although there is a settlement of racism hidden in their tone and voice,I believe it be more than just simple racism, more complex than us just calling them racists. These people have a serve dependence on others for their view of the world. They cannot (Or not willing to) gauge the world around them with their own perspective, they must have someone tell them what to see, or what to believe. To that manner they must have someone tell them why they have such concerns that the President is bad/evil, and that is where the right-wing media comes in.
With Glenn Beck crying on TV, asking us to go back to the time after 9/11, and go back to when this country was hole, it gives way to this people seeing that the President is not from "their country" and that they just want it back to a simpler time, when they weren't told to think for themselves, but when there such a fear in this country, that we were all willing to be told what to think. To these people it is the easiest way to denounce the President and to give reasoning to their hatred against them, he is not the binding force that President Bush was. This is the basic problem with these people, and that is they need to be told what to think, and told that it is ok that they feel it to be wrong with a black man leading this country, and told that the real reason for hatred is that he is A) a Socialist B) Not American. It is a way to think within the constraints of what the media tells them, rather then thinking for themselves and thinking for what is best for this country, not "their country" (whatever that may be).
But there is still the group that don't think of President Bush, when they say "my country", but the ones are just pure racist, not hidden racist, or blind listeners of Glenn Beck who spew racist, but people who actually hate the idea of an African-American running this country. These people will use the same arguments that the others use, but use it merely as a front for what they really feel. They may be people who will say that they are not racist, and they may actually believe it, but if you ask them what the major problem is with this country, they will more than likely say Welfare, which is used as a front for racism, since a lot people see Welfare as nothing more than a poor black families income, and see the Welfare checks as nothing more a back door way to reparations.
To these people they feel no problems or quarrels, in saying "I want my country back" and meaning it as the country where only white men are the leaders, these people really do feel that a black man is inadequate to be President, and for some, to be on the same level as white men. The idea of the most powerful man in this country being an African-American, scares them, and makes them begin to hate everything associated with the President. They will benefit from the health care proposals, but it don't matter, not in their country, they don't want the government to allow competition in a free market setting, to allow for prices to be lowered, not in their country. They would benefit from the stimulus package, but not in their country, the government does not need to be building roads, or bridges, although the government has always done that since the beginning, and the last REAL Republican President, Eisenhower, was the one that built the Interstate system, with tax dollars, no less, but no in their country. It is just how they are, they are blind to everything around because of their hatred.
And the same goes with the hidden racist, or the blind followers, they don't have the ability to think for themselves, and see that the President is not a Marxist/Socialist/Communist/Fascist, who is here to destroy this country. But it will be impossible to tell these people that, mainly because the blind hatred/fear is too overwhelming, and they can't allow for the idea of us telling them, think for yourself, think for what is best for you, and for your country, not what someone else tells you. But if they did that, the organizations that profit off that fear would be eliminated, Fox News would be no more, Rush Limbaugh would be nothing more but some local radio show host, spewing hate, and this debate would actually be about something contentious, like costs, how to work a public option, etc. But that day is only a day in our dreams, because these people use fear a vital life source.