Bill Clinton and Jimmy Carter got elected because they were comfortable with their faith," said Representative Rahm Emanuel of Illinois, a former Clinton aide. "What happened was that a part of the electorate came open to what Clinton and Carter had to say on everything else - health care, the environment, whatever - because they were very comfortable that Clinton and Carter did not disdain the way these people lived their lives, but respected them." He added: "We need a nominee and a party that is comfortable with faith and values. And if we have one, then all the hard work we've done on Social Security or America's place in the world or college education can be heard. But people aren't going to hear what we say until they know that we don't approach them as Margaret Mead would an anthropological experiment."
Suprisingly enough, if we treat persons of faith with respect, we might do better. We don't have to be of their faith or religious--just respectful. This goes back to a frustration I've had for years: progressives are fine with mocking Christians and poor whites, but defend (appropriately) vigorously the rights of Muslims, blacks, whomever else. Poor white folks who work for a living are just about as powerless and fucked over as poor black folks. For instance at Oberlin you could talk about West Virginia white trash. Words mean something--thus the idea behind this site. And even if those words don't get used in political speech they inform the policies and approaches of liberals--the otherness and disdain we often apply to those who live in the south or the ozarks or appalachia. I'd like to see those words and approaches purged as much as possible. It's not going to serve us well if the very "poor folks" we're trying to "save"*, we think of as TRASH.
*oh, and saving people....not something we do well. empowering better
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