They seem to take turns on our magical wheel of scapegoats, don't they? Rockers make brief appearances on the wheel, as do video games and movies, but in recent years, there seems to be two scapegoats above all the rest: Illegal Immigrants and Homosexuals.
When times are tough, things aren't going right, things aren't going the way the "Good Lord" intended, then it's time to point fingers, and who better to point fingers at than Illegal Immigrants and Homosexuals?
Why do I say that? For the simple fact that the majority of this country does not support Illegal Immigrants or Homosexuals (this may be changing, however). We've become a little more tolerant of "gays," but I call it the quiet-tolerance, where people turn a blind eye to what might be construed as "gay." As long as they don't see it or hear about it, then they're fine. I honestly don't see that as a great deal of tolerance toward a group of people. It'd be like KKK members in their early stages of life trying to be "tolerant" of African-Americans. So long as they don't see them anywhere or hear anything come out of their mouths if they do bump into them, then, they're fine.
There's always (thus far, hopefully not always and forever) a hot-button issue dealing with homosexuals. There used to be talk that they were the reason for the AIDS virus. There's been an issue with their "lifestyle," if you want to call it that and if being "gay" is innate or choice. There's been argument amongst some on it being a curable disease (just read up on James Dobson's belief). Then, there are the more recent arguments on "gays'" rights to receive equal benefits of married couples without actually being married, of adopting and of marrying one another. So, regardless of how far we've come in accepting this minority, once more acceptance is gained by them, another issue comes about to steady the progress that was made just beforehand. There then was talk about adding an amendment to the Constitution to ban "gay" marriage.
Whenever a scandal was brewing in the Bush Administration, when times were down (which was been pretty constant), or when they wanted to divert America's attention away from their mistakes, one of these two issues were likely come about.
The sad part is that some people go along with whatever the government says, especially party-affiliated sheep. So, regardless of all the wars going on and potential wars to come, we had to focus our attention on adding an amendment to the Constitution to ban gays from getting married. When so many of our soldiers and Iraqi civilians are dying overseas, we had to focus our attention on a very small percentage of our population who would have died trying to make it to our country (some, who actually did) just for a chance at a better life.
There are much more important issues to be dealt with than illegal immigration and "gays." I think, subconsciously, illegal immigrants might make some of us feel guilty in ways, because it's obvious that they're more appreciative of the American way of life than many of us are. Our soldiers are overseas dying for what the President Bush told them to be our "freedoms." These immigrants are dying just for a chance to give their families and themselves a better life. All this goes on, while many of us sit on our couches, watching how immigration is one of the largest problems facing our country today. Perhaps some of us are a bit paranoid about it as well, considering the fact that we took over the country from the Natives and gave them little in return. Perhaps that's made us somewhat paranoid, knowing that it's happened in the past and therefore, could happen in the future. It also bothers me that many don't see the similarities between the illegal immigrants coming up from Central America and where we all started. Why did most of our families, from Europe, Africa, Asia and elsewhere, risk their lives into coming here? For a chance to provide their families and themselves a better life.
Some are even more extreme on the "gay" issue. The Westboro Baptist Church in Kansas have protested at soldiers' funerals by saying that the death was due to our country's tolerance of homosexuality. Some blamed Hurricane Katrina on our tolerance of homosexuality. There are numerous hate crimes directed toward "gays," as well. Many of these end in death. Many "Christians" claim that the Bible condemns homosexuality. That's where homosexuals have a bit more to deal with than illegal immigrants. If an issue is said to be immoral by someone in the religious community and they give documentation (The Bible) of that, then there are going to be a lot of people protesting and fighting against that issue. But, I have read texts written by actual pastors and priests, whom claim otherwise. While I have not read anyone state that The Bible advocates homosexuality, I have read plenty of sources claiming that it does not condemn the acts either. Whether someone interprets the passages as advocating, condemning, or being neutral on homosexuality, there lies one constant - none of us wrote the darn things! So, who are we to say that we know 100%, without a shadow of doubt, that our interpretation is the correct one? Simple, we can't. Yeah, that may be a pill that's a bit tough to swallow for many, but you'll have to deal with it.
So, what is the true reason behind the government making these two groups of people scapegoats? Besides what I said before, about diverting attention away from their own mistakes and scandals? It again deals with religion. Evangelical Christians are the reason why Bush's approval rating wasn't the lowest in recorded history (depending on the poll). They may be the reason why he "won" the 2004 (s)election. While, approximately 35% of the average population approved of Bush, approximately 65% of Evangelical Christians approved of the job he was doing. The "gay" issue is one of the most important to the Evangelical Christians. Many of them were disappointed that Bush had not tried to follow-through with his earlier talks about adding the "gay" ban amendment to the Constitution. Even though Bush and his administration knew there was little to no chance that the proposal would be passed, they went for it to appease the Evangelical Christians and hopefully earn their vote (for Republicans) in the mid-term elections. With illegal immigration, Bush would've liked to have solidified his position amongst conservatives and Republicans, but has done anything but that. In fact, the Democrats were more satisfied with his position on the issue than Republicans.
All Bush was trying to do was make himself a non-factor in the mid-term elections. If he allowed himself to be a factor, there was a good chance that the Democrats would gain control of the House or the Senate. But, if he was a non-factor, then Republicans had a better opportunity to maintain control of both the House and Senate. At the time I wrote this, the mid-term elections were just about five months away, so Bush and his administration did do everything they possibly could to reach out to their base and foundation of conservatives and Republicans (and Evangelical Christians) to all but guarantee themselves votes in November. They regressed with the immigration issue and progressed with the "gay" issue. We'll see what else they have up their sleeves in the upcoming months. In hindsight, they didn't have much, which in my opinion, was a very good thing.
When times are tough, things aren't going right, things aren't going the way the "Good Lord" intended, then it's time to point fingers, and who better to point fingers at than Illegal Immigrants and Homosexuals?
Why do I say that? For the simple fact that the majority of this country does not support Illegal Immigrants or Homosexuals (this may be changing, however). We've become a little more tolerant of "gays," but I call it the quiet-tolerance, where people turn a blind eye to what might be construed as "gay." As long as they don't see it or hear about it, then they're fine. I honestly don't see that as a great deal of tolerance toward a group of people. It'd be like KKK members in their early stages of life trying to be "tolerant" of African-Americans. So long as they don't see them anywhere or hear anything come out of their mouths if they do bump into them, then, they're fine.
There's always (thus far, hopefully not always and forever) a hot-button issue dealing with homosexuals. There used to be talk that they were the reason for the AIDS virus. There's been an issue with their "lifestyle," if you want to call it that and if being "gay" is innate or choice. There's been argument amongst some on it being a curable disease (just read up on James Dobson's belief). Then, there are the more recent arguments on "gays'" rights to receive equal benefits of married couples without actually being married, of adopting and of marrying one another. So, regardless of how far we've come in accepting this minority, once more acceptance is gained by them, another issue comes about to steady the progress that was made just beforehand. There then was talk about adding an amendment to the Constitution to ban "gay" marriage.
Whenever a scandal was brewing in the Bush Administration, when times were down (which was been pretty constant), or when they wanted to divert America's attention away from their mistakes, one of these two issues were likely come about.
The sad part is that some people go along with whatever the government says, especially party-affiliated sheep. So, regardless of all the wars going on and potential wars to come, we had to focus our attention on adding an amendment to the Constitution to ban gays from getting married. When so many of our soldiers and Iraqi civilians are dying overseas, we had to focus our attention on a very small percentage of our population who would have died trying to make it to our country (some, who actually did) just for a chance at a better life.
There are much more important issues to be dealt with than illegal immigration and "gays." I think, subconsciously, illegal immigrants might make some of us feel guilty in ways, because it's obvious that they're more appreciative of the American way of life than many of us are. Our soldiers are overseas dying for what the President Bush told them to be our "freedoms." These immigrants are dying just for a chance to give their families and themselves a better life. All this goes on, while many of us sit on our couches, watching how immigration is one of the largest problems facing our country today. Perhaps some of us are a bit paranoid about it as well, considering the fact that we took over the country from the Natives and gave them little in return. Perhaps that's made us somewhat paranoid, knowing that it's happened in the past and therefore, could happen in the future. It also bothers me that many don't see the similarities between the illegal immigrants coming up from Central America and where we all started. Why did most of our families, from Europe, Africa, Asia and elsewhere, risk their lives into coming here? For a chance to provide their families and themselves a better life.
Some are even more extreme on the "gay" issue. The Westboro Baptist Church in Kansas have protested at soldiers' funerals by saying that the death was due to our country's tolerance of homosexuality. Some blamed Hurricane Katrina on our tolerance of homosexuality. There are numerous hate crimes directed toward "gays," as well. Many of these end in death. Many "Christians" claim that the Bible condemns homosexuality. That's where homosexuals have a bit more to deal with than illegal immigrants. If an issue is said to be immoral by someone in the religious community and they give documentation (The Bible) of that, then there are going to be a lot of people protesting and fighting against that issue. But, I have read texts written by actual pastors and priests, whom claim otherwise. While I have not read anyone state that The Bible advocates homosexuality, I have read plenty of sources claiming that it does not condemn the acts either. Whether someone interprets the passages as advocating, condemning, or being neutral on homosexuality, there lies one constant - none of us wrote the darn things! So, who are we to say that we know 100%, without a shadow of doubt, that our interpretation is the correct one? Simple, we can't. Yeah, that may be a pill that's a bit tough to swallow for many, but you'll have to deal with it.
So, what is the true reason behind the government making these two groups of people scapegoats? Besides what I said before, about diverting attention away from their own mistakes and scandals? It again deals with religion. Evangelical Christians are the reason why Bush's approval rating wasn't the lowest in recorded history (depending on the poll). They may be the reason why he "won" the 2004 (s)election. While, approximately 35% of the average population approved of Bush, approximately 65% of Evangelical Christians approved of the job he was doing. The "gay" issue is one of the most important to the Evangelical Christians. Many of them were disappointed that Bush had not tried to follow-through with his earlier talks about adding the "gay" ban amendment to the Constitution. Even though Bush and his administration knew there was little to no chance that the proposal would be passed, they went for it to appease the Evangelical Christians and hopefully earn their vote (for Republicans) in the mid-term elections. With illegal immigration, Bush would've liked to have solidified his position amongst conservatives and Republicans, but has done anything but that. In fact, the Democrats were more satisfied with his position on the issue than Republicans.
All Bush was trying to do was make himself a non-factor in the mid-term elections. If he allowed himself to be a factor, there was a good chance that the Democrats would gain control of the House or the Senate. But, if he was a non-factor, then Republicans had a better opportunity to maintain control of both the House and Senate. At the time I wrote this, the mid-term elections were just about five months away, so Bush and his administration did do everything they possibly could to reach out to their base and foundation of conservatives and Republicans (and Evangelical Christians) to all but guarantee themselves votes in November. They regressed with the immigration issue and progressed with the "gay" issue. We'll see what else they have up their sleeves in the upcoming months. In hindsight, they didn't have much, which in my opinion, was a very good thing.
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