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OpEdNews Op Eds    H2'ed 12/23/09

Love Thy Birther

By Jonathan Leigh Solomon  Posted by Jonathan Leigh Solomon (about the submitter)       (Page 1 of 1 pages)   No comments

A question for the holiday season: On your train ride home to see the family, you sit down next to a stranger. As strangers often do, they tell you many personal details of their lives: no health insurance, non-union service job that pays $9.50 an hour, a sister who needs an abortion. But, they spent their summer cheering Mitch McConnell at AstroTurf town halls, they have a well-thumbed copy of Glenn Beck's Arguing with Idiots peeking out of their overnight bag, and they are wearing a button that says, "IÃ „ ¥Sarah."

What of this stranger? Progressives have an admirable concern for those in dire circumstances, those whose futures are perilous. This, in part, fuels our determination to fight for single-payer health care, the Free Choice Act, a woman's right to choose, etcetera. But, what's our feeling when it comes to the stranger on the train - one in the crowd which is devoted to policies counter to its welfare?

We've really got only two choices. If they refuse to put down their Barack/Hitler/FinalSolution/GoHome/BarackHUSSEINObama signs, we can choose (A), befuddlement, which ultimately becomes condescension - "they know not what they do." Or, we can choose (B), frustration, that ultimately becomes anger - "the fault, dear Brutus, lies not in our stars, but in" you! Speaking for myself, I usually find myself bouncing back and forth between the two like a tweeting ping-pong ball.

So, may I suggest a third option: To quote Tiny Tim, I'm going to spend the holiday season holding to (an agnostic's version of) "God Bless Us, Everyone!" Without that, I'd posit, you become part of a "what's the matter with Manhattan/Hollywood/Axis" crowd i.e., you are taking a position that ultimately cuts off any opportunity for policy that benefits everyone's - not including CEOs and other Scrooge-ists - welfare.

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Jonathan Leigh Solomon is a (retired) stand-up comedian who appeared regularly on "Late Night With David Letterman" and the "Late Show With David Letterman." You can read his satire at Politico.Com and 236.com or listen to him sharing fact-filled (more...)
 
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