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| Tolerance Does Not Mean Submission by S.L. McKay |
| The Radical Right has exploited a great strength of liberalism: tolerance. No doubt, they are feeling smug, having turned strength into an apparent weakness. Yet tolerance does not mean submission. Let us now show them another great liberal strength: a majority united for human liberty and democratic principles! Continued... During the 2000 presidential campaign, politically astute liberals warned that the Radical Right was fully behind Trojan Horse Bush. A perfect example is Bush advisor, Ralph Reed. In the spring of 2000 he all but disappeared from public view, and was forgotten by many moderates and liberals. Yet only the naïve believed he, along with his righteous brethren, were not actively shaping policy behind the scenes. Only those who refused to participate or opted to be spoon-fed by corporate media believed "compassionate conservatism" was more than a saccharine slogan designed to lull the masses into sleepy submission. Meanwhile, the cancer was growing strong. The media doctors did not tell the patient, America, of the disease. Too bad they can't be disbarred for journalistic malpractice! When signs of the cancer could no longer be hidden, many Americans chose to ignore it anyway?even as it sought to overtake the majority of healthy democratic cells in the body politic. Denial can be more damaging than the disease! I believe everything happens for a reason, even if we cannot grasp the significance at the time. What happened at the polls on November 7, 2000 in Florida and other states such as Tennessee and Missouri, with regard to voter intimidation, illegal rejection of registered voters at the polls and other tampering, has sent a jolt through the liberal and progressive communities. Hopefully, it has tapped the less politically active on the shoulder as well. Thus far, few in mainstream media have lived up to the tradition of the free press. Fortunately, we live in the technology age and have the Internet to help bring the truth to light. From the Revolutionary War to the Civil Rights Movement, every great moment in our history has been one of liberal expression. Liberals will fight to death to defend the rights of every American, including those that hold opposing views. The New Right has proven they will do whatever it takes to stamp out the voices that oppose them. They have shown us that they will use whatever means necessary to inflict their limited views on all of us and to impede the freedoms guaranteed to each citizen under the Constitution of the United States of America. The Radical Right has exploited a great strength of liberalism: tolerance. No doubt, they are feeling smug, having turned a strength into an apparent weakness. Yet tolerance does not mean submission. Let us now show them another great liberal strength: a majority united for human liberty and democratic principles |