Tonight I finished my Account Planning class, and as is usually the case, my thoughts turn to failure. I am reminded of something I wrote about after our nation’s last Great Mistake; the last presidential election.

Slate had a series of essays about why the democrats lost, and this one struck a chord, thought I'd share it with my friends and family

http://slate.com/id/2109218/
Why Americans Hate Democrats-A Dialogue
The unteachable ignorance of the red states.

By Jane Smiley

She starts with a great line;

"I say forget introspection. It's time to be honest about our antagonists."

...

"Ignorance and bloodlust have a long tradition in the United States, especially in the red states. There used to be a kind of hand-to-hand fight on the frontier called a "knock-down-drag-out," where any kind of gouging, biting, or maiming was considered fair. The ancestors of today's red-state voters used to stand around cheering and betting on these fights."

I personally love watching things like the UFC (the Ultimate Fighting Championship), at least in the first couple tournaments, because it was a way to really see Darwinism at it’s purest. There are still Mixed Martial Arts tournaments, but it’s a bit too homoerotic for my tastes.

The Article goes on to say;

"The error that progressives have consistently committed over the years is to underestimate the vitality of ignorance in America. Listen to what the red state citizens say about themselves, the songs they write, and the sermons they flock to. They know who they are-they are full of original sin and they have a taste for violence. The blue state citizens make the Rousseauvian mistake of thinking humans are essentially good, and so they never realize when they are about to be slugged from behind."

I must agree. It’s good to have principals, but “Good” doesn’t have to equal “Stupid”. Funny thing is, I remember reading an article about that very thing in Dragon magazine back when I was a quasi-gamer.

She goes on to conclude what's been said elsewhere.

"Progressives have only one course of action now: React quickly to every outrage-red state types love to cheat and intimidate, so we have to assume the worst and call them on it every time. We have to give them more to think about than they can handle-to always appeal to reason and common sense, and the law, even when they can't understand it and don't respond. They cannot be allowed to keep any secrets."

It’s still good advice, and one that should be applied at the lowest form of government as well as the highest offices. Our Founding Fathers believed in Checks and Balances because they understood the evil nature of mankind.

I remember reading somewhere about how the Moral Majority had guides on how to infiltrate local political offices, like Board of Supervisors and the like, if I find it, I’ll post a link. Very subversive stuff.

Dr. Thompson summed it up best: “All politics is local politics” .