Miscellany101's Weblog
"I have often been forced to my knees by the overwhelming conviction that there was no place else to go."
Another Myth Exploded
I believe(d) in the greatness of America and its people, but that belief has been shaken somewhat with the surge of racism and Islamophobia sweeping the country. Frankly, it has caused more than a little doubt in me, especially when viewed in the context of it's been going on for sometime and we still don't seem to get it, or get it right.
Browsing through my list of blogs, I ran across this post which has me thinking about this idea of American exceptionalism and I agree with what the writer wrote. Here are some excerpts (please support citizenship media; it's a far cry better than corporate media)
the greatness of the American people is not only a myth but an extremely destructive one.
The myth is most notably promoted by your so-called leaders, who by its use demonstrate quite clearly that they know more about you than you know about them. In particular, they know that flattery will get them everywhere, because you are far too ignorant, far too arrogant, too inward-looking, too self-absorbed, too addicted to your daily fiction, to ever vote for anyone so bold as to tell you the truth about yourself, your country and its role in the world, or the body politic itself — of which you are a vanishingly insignificant member.
Instead they talk about how proud they are to be American, and how proud you are to be American, and how they know the great people of this great nation will support them in their great campaign to become the next great president, senator, congressman, governor, attorney general, dog-catcher, or whatever. God Bless America, this great and wonderful country. Or something.
The myth of the greatness of the American people is — to use Lincoln's famous words — altogether fitting and proper under the circumstances, which is to say it is necessary to the American political landscape for several interconnected reasons. In addition to the most transparent of flattery, the myth provides invaluable support for American exceptionalism, the mass-murderous fiction according to which the United States is never obliged to acknowledge — or apologize for — or rectify — the damage it does to the rest of the world, where it slaughters innocent people by the millions and poisons square miles of landscape by the hundreds of thousands, all in the name of spreading democracy, or stability, or prosperity, or security, or whatever they think you'll believe next year.
the myth also obscures the reality of American prosperity: that it is not solely or even primarily the product of American ingenuity and the inherent greatness of the American people, but of brute force, brutally applied. The story of American wealth begins with a continent rich in natural resources, devoid of natural enemies and protected from the rest of the world by two oceans, conquered through genocide and developed by slavery, fed by the most rapid destruction of resources mankind has ever seen, and growing by hammering the rest of the world, murdering innocent people and stealing the resources to which the victims and their progeny should have been entitled. For this you congratulate yourselves, and your politicians congratulate you, as righteous Christians whose worldly wealth signifies your holiness. Or something.
But no, your so-called leaders will never tell you any of this, and neither will your so-called news media. And even though the plain and horrible truth is available — and always has been — in your local library, and — relatively recently — on the best (read: least-popular) internet sites, you mostly choose to avoid it. And this avoidance is altogether fitting and proper as well, since your continuing denial allows you to go on about your life in "peace" and "quiet", secure in the "knowledge" that regardless of whatever trouble awaits you and your country, your inherent greatness — and that of your friends and neighbors — will certainly come to the rescue, if only it can be awakened. Or something.
The one saving grace for my sanity, the item that keeps me from jumping off the nearest bridge is the "system" does work, that people can and do overcome by way of using the tools this system provides,yet at great cost to themselves to their lives and the lives of their loved ones and an even greater cost to the American body politic. That people do prevail, I assert, is due as much to the human spirit as to the political system.
There are groups of Americans today who are far better off than they were 200 years ago; granted those who were at the top of the social hierarchy then still are predominant today and they still seek to maintain that standing over everyone else, but there's hope that with struggle a balance can be achieved. Or maybe not….
Hat tip
Filed under Government Tagged with American exceptionalism, Government, greatness
The Ramadan Chronicles
An explanation of "jihad" that you might not see or hear from corporate media.
http://media.tariqramadan.com/chroniqueramadan/2010/english/Chronicleeng16.mp3
Filed under Islam, Muslim Tagged with Islam, Jihad, Muslim, Ramadan, Tariq Ramadan
Good hair, bad hair
I recently saw Chris Rock's excellent documentary, 'Good Hair', and didn't know how much women (he specifically focused on women in his piece) spent on getting their hair done! Nor was I aware at the depths people go to get good hair, those who want it on their own heads and those who purchase it to sell to others. The exploitative side of a good 'do can reach the point where it rates up there with an international crime on the magnitude of human trafficking. I strongly recommend getting a copy of the movie and watching it.
I came away with a greater appreciation for the 'hijab' for Muslim women after watching this movie because of two very striking comments made in it. One was my Maya Angelou who said, 'hair is a woman's glory' and Rock's statement at the end of the film, 'it's not what you put on your head it's what you put in your head that counts' that seem to make the point that is made by women who wear, out of a sense of conviction, the head scarf.
Modesty is not just in appearance but in how you shape that appearance is an essential element of the "good hair" debate as well. Take the photo above. I found it on a forum where someone was asking for a barber who could cut his hair like the picture and he went on to say, 'Price does not matter just want a good haircut' which could almost mean anything! Rock et. co explored the debate how can people "afford" to do so much to/with their hair in this time of economic uncertainty and the implied answers are as stark as the given ones. It's scary what we are willing to do to get 'good hair'.
Filed under entertainment, hijab, Islam, Uncategorized Tagged with "Good Hair", Chris Rock, entertainment, hijab, movies
Loyalty to Donald Trump
The Mueller Report
The GOP is no longer relevant
This is what strength looks like in the face of adversity
Miracles Never Cease
Loyalty to Donald Tr… on Loyalty to Donald Trump
Arab Americans left… on America rejects Arabs even at…
86Amber on Israeli hypocrisy
miscellany101 on Gun ownership, police and whit…
Thomas on Gun ownership, police and whit…
@AntonioSabatoJr @realDonaldTrump lies and is a racist and there's plenty of evidence to prove it. Gonzalo Curiel;… twitter.com/i/web/status/1… 16 minutes ago
@mdnij34 @realDonaldTrump is a racist and a liar 20 minutes ago
@Jim_Jordan Tell that to @senatemajldr 22 minutes ago
@thehill #trumpLies 36 minutes ago
@Wonderbitch81 vienna sausage....the filet mignon of the working man 38 minutes ago
This is what really happened or was said. #trumpLies twitter.com/ddale8/status/… 50 minutes ago
RT @SoldierofResist: Do you agree? Racism Is an Impeachable Offense theintercept.com/2019/07/19/tru… 53 minutes ago
@inga_mckay @ABC Touche 55 minutes ago
@atrupar It's the Trump 'double down doctrine'. 3Ds or DDD...it's also his attempt at trying to appear as a bad ass… twitter.com/i/web/status/1… 1 hour ago
@thehill Justin Amash and Bill Weld come to mind as Republicans who've not been accused of racism; maybe it's becau… twitter.com/i/web/status/1… 1 hour ago
Trump reverses course, defends racist chants directed at Ilhan Omar because he wanted to appear like a tough guy in… twitter.com/i/web/status/1… 2 hours ago
Trump AKA Mr.Birther is good at slinging feces against a wall to see if it sticks. That's all he's got. This too is… twitter.com/i/web/status/1… 3 hours ago
@mikealelliott @EricBoehlert No one standing on American terre ferme has the right to say to anyone else, 'America,… twitter.com/i/web/status/1… 3 hours ago
RT @LynneAvVer: @miscellany101 @farnazfassihi @mehdirhasan He couldn't find Iraq on a map. I don't think he can actually read. 3 hours ago
I'll leave this right here #kickAssCommentary #IAmTheResistance #ImpeachTrumpNOW twitter.com/keithboykin/st… 8 hours ago
No this campaign will be about Trump's utter disregard for women and his predatory and illegal behavior twitter.com/IngrahamAngle/… 8 hours ago
@anneapplebaum @sarahkendzior He doesn't exhibit the slightest sign of cognition; he appears distant, detached, dis… twitter.com/i/web/status/1… 8 hours ago
@RjSimmons__ @_SJPeace_ Thank you...I don't understand why others can't see it coming.. 8 hours ago
@soledadobrien I applaud your dedication to journalism and your ability to stomach the NYT 8 hours ago
@QasimRashid @DeanObeidallah The GOP right long ago wrote off Powell saying he wasn't conservative enough but that… twitter.com/i/web/status/1… 8 hours ago
American Muslims anti-Semitism Arabs Barak Obama fascism free speech Gaza Government Guantanamo Bay HAMAS Iraq Islam Islam in America Islamophobia Israel Israeli atrocity John McCain Media Middle East military Muslim Palestine political process Politics Presidential Campaign terror terrorism U.S. Uncategorized War on terror