As I watched the GOP Convention this evening it was exceedingly frightening for a variety of reasons. So many reasons that I can't even put them all down on paper yet; another longer blog will be forthcoming on those all too numerous issues shortly.
But as I and others groped for a way of simply and succinctly describing the unbelievable spectacle that befell us the term that kept coming up repeatedly, and coming up among Republicans themselves, was "redneck." "Liberals don't understand real America" they're the out of touch "Harvard elite" they screamed. "I'm not here for the Washington media" Sarah Palin herself belched. "I'm just a redneck" coming from Palin's own soon-to-be son-in-law. Viewers in the media and elsewhere saw the overwhelming old, white, and male consistency of that convention cheering on cries for the elimination of "big brother" from a party that taps every phone call and email you send and couldn't come up with anything more accurate.
But as I drew back from this admittedly vitriolic, cynical, uneducated, unthinking, I'm-an-ignorant-dunce-and-proud-of-it spectacle, I had to take umbrage with that characterization. I have to object to that characterization because it's firstly, not true, and secondly because Republicans are using it to try and cloud their own cruelty, ignorance and stupidity in order to win an election.
Accordingly, let me be very and abundantly clear: there is a difference between being a Redneck and being Ignorant. . . . . Let that sink in, because it's true. Very simply, being a Redneck does NOT mean being Ignorant. . . There is a very clear distinction between a Redneck and someone who's ignorant, and the Republican party is trying to muddy that line to make people believe they're the same. They're not. The Republicans on that stage tonight and in that crowd tonight, they were ignorant, they weren't Rednecks. They were unintelligent, uneducated, podunk, unthinking, bigoted imbeciles who, if they were dogs, would have been put down for their rabid hatred of anything or anyone deemed "other." It didn't matter if they were from the backwoods of Louisiana or the upper east side in Manhattan (as most of the actual GOP puppeteers actually are): they were Ignorant. Point blank, that's all. They're ignorant. The reason I am so staunch on the distinction is because Republicans are trying to hide their bigoted ignorance in some of the beauties of a Redneck. And they're doing it to get votes from people they laugh at, have no regard for, and will destroy afterwards.
According to Wikipedia, "Redneck" is a term which refers to a stereotype of usually rural, Caucasian people of lower socio-economic status in the U.S. originally associated with the Appalachians, and later the U.S. South, the Ozarks, the Great Plains and the Rockies. Comedian Jeff Foxworthy defines "redneck" as "a glorious lack of sophistication," stating "that we are all guilty of. . [it] . . at one time or another."
However, Redneck does NOT refer to a lack of intelligence, wit, political acumen, caring, heart, patriotism, generosity, or even higher education. It also does NOT refer to people of intolerance, low ambition, or bigoted in anyway. When Republicans associate the ignorance that was their convention last night with being a "Redneck" it's actually an unmitigated insult and slap in the face to every Redneck in America. They're trying to confuse their GOP ignorance with the long standing tradition of American "Rednecks"; maybe if they say they're "Rednecks" instead of just ignorant, stupid, and intolerant people, others will vote for them.
America has a long and proud tradition of great American Rednecks. And I say that without the least bluster, sarcasm or insult. Some of our greatest Americans were Rednecks: Benjamin Franklin; Andrew Jackson; Lyndon Johnson. Some may be shocked that I reference Ben Franklin. But that's just the point: he was a genius who acted the "Redneck" when it could help his country. As ambassador to France he quickly acted the role of a back-woods rustic, even wearing a beaver hat, in order to create an image that would open the wallets of French nobility and help the American revolution by bringing in French military intervention. That's a Redneck folks. A guy/gal who's brighter than you, better educated than you, but at the same time knows how to use the back-woods rustic appeal they grew up with to, for lack of a better term, "play" you for a greater good. Some of our finest current political strategists are also "Rednecks." Surely James Carville would qualify, and I love and respect him for it beyond even his ideas. Bill Clinton himself, it can be said, was at least a moderate Redneck; he certainly knew how to modulate his Arkansas drawl to good effect. And LBJ never gave up his good-ol-boy charm and intimidation when it needed to be there. That ladies and gentlemen is a Redneck. The list is long and distinguished. And it's a thing to take pride in and hope for as they have a history of challenging the status quo and moving this nation forward.
And that's what makes me sad tonight. Because what I saw tonight were no Rednecks. What I saw were just Ignorant, hateful, angry sops who are willing to say or do anything to anyone just to cling to power or make a buck, even if it means dooming their neighbor or their country. These are people who fundamentally don't care about you or me. They're people who want to enrich themselves by way of politics and rationalize it by telling themselves that if we're dumb enough to elect them, then we get what we deserve. They're Ignorant, not Rednecks. They're also cowards, no Redneck is. And they're a disgrace not only to this nation, but to this nation's long and honorable tradition of true, and wonderful, Rednecks.
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