Conservatives Re-Write Declaration of Independence

By
Glenn W. Smith
– March 11, 2010Posted in: Politics

thomas jefferson big 300x274 Conservatives Re Write Declaration of IndependenceThe Civil Rights Movement created “unrealistic expectations of equal outcomes” among minorities, according to Texas conservatives trying to rewrite American history textbooks. They want students to learn that bit of undemocratic, phony history.

Imagine Thomas Jefferson opening the Declaration of Independence with, “We hold these truths to be self-evident, no one should have unrealistic expectations of human equality…”

The Texas State Board of Education, dominated by anti-evolution, authoritarian ideologues, has made news around the world for trying to rewrite history. They want Confederate President Jefferson Davis’ words given equal treatment with President Abraham Lincoln’s. Now there’s an example of an unrealistic expectation of equality.

This is all taking place in the Texas textbook adoption process, a process that influences books studied by students around the country. Texas is big, and its schools order a lot of books. To keep costs down, textbook publishers push those books in other states.

I’m outraged, of course, and I’m sure you are, too. But really, this is no surprise. The Right lives in a hierarchical universe. Authoritarian ideology comes with a rigid caste system. Some are higher on the ladder. Others – usually non-whites – are lower. God created us unequal. In their world, it’s immoral to “get above your raisin’” or your genetic inferiority.

The Civil Rights Movement was all about an America that lived up to its ideals and founding documents. There is perhaps so single phrase that better captures those ideals than Jefferson’s “all men are created equal.” The phrase bedevils conservatives because it doesn’t fit the way they see the world. To dodge its egalitarian call, they rewrite history.I grew up in Texas. In the ‘60s conservatives were fond of teaching the dangers of Soviet communism. At the top of their list of abuses was the Soviet Union’s rewriting of history and its ideological abuse of science. I happen to agree about these totalitarian excesses. But doesn’t it sound familiar? There’s no climate crisis, and Jefferson didn’t mean it about the equality stuff. I guess it depends on who, exactly, is twisting science and history. That is just what conservatives once condemned as “situation ethics.” Hypocrisy is a slippery slope.

Conservatives are often at pains to hide their authoritarian, hierarchical worldview. Republicans used the Civil Rights Act to scare whites, especially Southern whites, out of the Democratic Party. Lee Atwater, Pat Buchanan and other conservatives termed it their “Southern Strategy.” But, as Atwater later admitted, they used “abstract” terms or symbolic stand-ins like forced busing or welfare queens in place of overt racist terminology.

Not everyone on the Right is racist. Some are just tactical exploiters of invented racial hierarchies. Others are offended by the cynical use of race, but they’ve been content with the political victories gained by the exploitation of racial resentment. These more broad-minded (and, sadly, weak) conservatives are being driven from party power as old-style bigots take over.

In the recent Texas primary elections, Republican Hispanic candidates won only three of 30 GOP primary contests (four others are in runoffs). Incumbent Republican Railroad Commissioner Victor Carrillo was beaten by an unknown, un-funded candidate named David Porter. The GOP ballots must have been printed on race cards.

Democrats should take a lesson from Eastern European dissidents who successfully brought down totalitarian regimes by insisting that they live up to their stated ideals of human rights and equality. Vaclav Havel and others called this “living in truth.” Equality and freedom go hand in hand. Individual liberty depends upon the assumption of human equality.

It is wrong to take the election of Barack Obama as a sign that the politics of hatred and hierarchy are behind us. Obama’s victory is being used by the Right the same way they used the Civil Rights Act. The natural hierarchy has been disrupted. They want to “take back America.” It is a dangerous game they play.

Democrats were reluctant to take on these polarizing forces in the ‘70s, ‘80s and ‘90s as they tried to hang on to racially-motivated white voters in the wake of civil rights. It is hard for conservatives to call the Declaration of Independence un-American. We have to “live in truth” and loudly insist that the nation live up to the ideals of that document. And certainly opposed efforts to erase those ideals from our children’s schoolbooks.

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About Glenn W. Smith

Glenn W. Smith has spent the past 30 years in journalism and politics, where he’s made a name for himself as a writer, campaign manager, activist, think tank analyst and, as Daily Kos founder Markos Moulitsas says, a “legendary political consultant and all-around good guy.” “There’s no one like him,” says author George Lakoff. CNN commentator Paul Begala says, “He has unmatched experience, a graceful pen (or pixel nowadays) and deep insight into the best and worst of us.” Novelist Sarah Bird speaks of his “lucid and lyrical” prose. And, she says, he’s fun. Huffington Post founder Arianna Huffington says Glenn writes with “grace and abundant humor” and “uses his colorful experiences in Texas to enlighten us all.”

Smith led Ann Richards’ successful 1990 campaign for Governor of Texas. He worked for former Texas Lt. Gov. Bill Hobby and U.S. Senator Lloyd Bentsen. Earlier, Smith was a political reporter for the Houston Chronicle and the Houston Post. He’s coordinated national campaigns for groups such as MoveOn.org. In 2004, he authored the highly acclaimed book, The Politics of Deceit: Saving Freedom and Democracy from Extinction. He also wrote Unfit Commander, a book that detailed George W. Bush’s mysterious disappearance from military service.

In 2004, Smith was featured in the film, Bush’s Brain, a documentary about Karl Rove. Smith provided commentary on Rove’s role as then-President Bush’s senior advisor. He has made numerous media appearances with Chris Mathews on Hardball, Joe Scarborough, Brit Hume, and many others. He writes a regularly for top national web sites, including FireDogLake and Huffington Post.

As a senior fellow at George Lakoff’s prestigious Rockridge Institute in Berkeley he studied, wrote and taught on the power of metaphor and narrative in political communications. He also lectured on religion and politics at the Starr King School for Ministry in Berkeley. As a sponsor and organizer, he has pulled together numerous national events with progressive religious leaders. He also organized a celebration of Dr. Martin Luther King at Riverside Church in New York City as well as “Freedom and Faith” bus tours, which was a nationwide campaign for social justice and progressive values.

Smith’s play, Double Play, which explored American Western myths and legends, was held over to sold-out audiences. He’s even written and performed songs in the Americana tradition, such as his best-known song, “Helping Marty Robbins,” a tribute to his hometown, Houston.

Most recently, Smith is the creator of DogCanyon, a political and cultural web site covering state, national and global issues from a Texas perspective. DogCanyon is an exhilarating and unique site that gets the connections between politics and culture and explores both the personal side of politics and the ups, down, craziness and beauty of “life its ownself,” as humorist Dan Jenkins would say. DogCanyon offers heartfelt personal essays, hard-hitting political analysis, and, most importantly, laughs.

As Paul Begala said, Smith writes in “the finest, firmest, fearless tradition of Texas essayists like Molly Ivins.”