Soljah On

Do Democrats hate America? The very idea is idiotic. If they hated America, why would they even exist as an American political party? Despite the stupidity of the statement, there are radio hosts and writers vilifying Democrats every day for “hating America”. The same Regressive sources crow about America being in a moral crisis. Their clucking about America’s Godlessness sounds more like America hating that anything from the Democratic side. Ironically, as Democrats try to demonstrate that they don’t hate America, and their criticisms of the government are caused by love for America, their credibility is undermined by their own friends.

Democrats support the troops, because we will need them in a security crisis. Democrats oppose President Bush’s policies in Iraq, but that opposition does not reflect on the troops. It is useless to hate the hammer when it is the carpenter who drives the nail. And what of those American troops who do the unthinkable—criminal acts of cruelty against the people we are supposed to be “liberating”? One of the cardinal Progressive virtues is justice, so any American who commits a crime against a fellow human being must be brought to justice. We would be hypocrites to think otherwise.

Despite the majority of Democrats’ compassion for the soldiers and demand for an effective security policy, there are many young (and no so young) peace protestors who truly do hate America and do not support the troops. They are eager to point out the excesses of some of these soldiers, and they site the failure to bring perpetrators to justice as prove of America’s fundamental corruption. Their hatred goes to the very core of the nation. If ever the United States claims the moral high ground on any issue, they are eager to point out the atrocities committed upon Native Americans generations ago. Slavery and the Japanese internment camps hold greater sway in their minds than the humanitarian aid that the United States extends to the world. All the bad things that the Allies did in World War II outweigh, in their minds, the liberation of Europe and the defeat of Nazism. Any sense of scale and proportion is out the window. “We are the bad guys”, they say, failing to notice that they have made the same fallacy that Bush makes, just in reverse.

The Democrats have reached a crucial junction. It must decide that some radicals and America-haters do not represent them. Bill Clinton had such a moment in 1992. Female rapper Sister Soljah made a statement that encouraged African Americans to “have a week and kill white people” instead of black people. To denounce such inflammatory statements is politically risky. Allies in the African-American community could be alienated. But at some point, a politician has to stand up for what is right, despite the political consequences. Bill Clinton’s response effectively said “no! This is not what we are as Democrats”. Democrats need to make such a statement now.

There is a mistake that some Democrats believe, that because the Party is so diverse, it must accept even the most extreme, hate-filled, anti-American radicals. These are supposedly the far left that make up a small but “important” part of our base. This is wrong. These people are not our base, their principles are anti-democratic, and they run off far more voters than they bring in. This faction is more likely to vote for Nader than a moderate Democrat, so you can’t even count on their votes. Cowing to this small set of poorly educated people requires Democrats to accept ideas that they know are wrong, with no guaranteed benefit, but with a guaranteed negative effect. It is not a “Left vs. Right” question, it is right vs. wrong.

Liberalism and Progressivism have democratic principles at their core. Neither can be truly radical, because both believe that political power flows from the people. No reform can be made that the people do not want. Liberals and Progressives are separated from Socialists and from radicals by their understanding of how the world actually works, and by their belief that there is good in America, and their determination to improve conditions for everybody. Yes, the United States has not always lived up to its noblest principles, but at least she has those noble principles. Sometimes, when Progressives are in power, we even get close to living up to those ideals. Yes, the U.S. oppressed Native Americans and enslaved African-Americans, but Progressives today believe that America can heal those wounds and move forward to a better future for all skin colors. Yes, the President deceived the American people in his justification for war in Iraq, but that doesn’t mean we can’t find a realistic Iraq policy that will get American troops out as quickly as possible and return the country to its people.

These extremists who can only see the flaws in America remind me of that idiot Marilyn Manson, who built a music career on mocking and exposing the shameful underside of American pop culture. He complains about the problems well enough, but in the end he has no idea how to fix those problems. Democrats support American troops serving in Iraq, because there, but for the grace of God, go they. Who knows how we would deal with the impossible situations that our soldiers face every day? Some of us might do some things that we would later be ashamed of. That does not excuse the actions, but seeks to understand them. We are all human, and we all make mistakes. “And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother's eye, but considerest not the beam that is in thine own eye?” (Matthew 7:3)

It’s time for Democrats to say “NO! That is not what we believe, and we will not be represented by extremists”. We need to welcome back those veterans who oppose the war but sympathize with the kids who are thrown into that situation. We need to welcome back the Christians who believe in Christ’s teachings of non-violence, but who love America for the religious freedoms they enjoy. We need to welcome back the poor and the downtrodden who want corporations to be held accountable, but who do not hate the government that helps them in their time of need. We need a Sister Soljah moment.

It is time, dear Democrats, to grow a spine.

© 2005 Bryan Lower

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