I am an invisible man…. I am a man of substance, of flesh and bone, fiber and liquids - and I might even be said to possess a mind. I am invisible, understand, simply because people refuse to see me.
- Ralph Ellison, The Invisible Man
Of all the disturbing trends to emerge from the midterm elections, perhaps the most disturbing (at least in my mind) is the demonization of Muslims being elevated to an art form. It might seem a good short-term solution for an aspiring politician with no real ideas of vision, but at what long-term cost does this sort of demonization come?? When “our side” taking power means using fear and propaganda to turn the majority against a peaceful minority, what are we doing to ourselves? That I don’t have an answer to that question is what scares me.
Perhaps the worst example of this trend is what just happened in Oklahoma, where 70% of voters approved the “Save Our State” Amendment to the state constitution. What, I wondered, are the proponents of this amendment trying to save Oklahoma from? Wouldja believe the threat of…wait for it…Sharia? I’m not certain that anyone in Oklahoma could cite a single instance in which Sharia put the safety and security of good, God-fearing Oklahomans at risk…but there it is. Someone in Oklahoma is so fearful and hate-addled by the idea of anything Islam-related that they felt compelled to put an amendment to the state constitution on the ballot banning the consideration of Sharia in state courts. I’d ask when an Oklahoma judge has ever used Sharia to interpret state law…but why? Given that your average Oklahoma prays to God before opening their mail, it’s hard to imagine that Islamic law poses much of a threat to anyone.
My purpose here is not to ridicule the pinhead(s) responsible for the “Save Our State” amendment. Honestly, there’s no need, because this really falls under the heading of “self-parody”. What I am wondering about is if this is the direction that America is heading. Are we so ignorant, so fearful, so unable to cope with anything or anyone different that we’re en willing to adulterate the rule of law by encoding that into statute law? Do we believe so strongly that our constitutionally-guaranteed freedoms really only fully apply to White Christians? Do these same White Christians really consider themselves to be an “oppressed majority”?? And are they so frightened, so threatened by what they refuse to understand that they will subvert the Constitution in order to assuage their fears?
Can’t we all just get along? As if I even need to answer that….
