THE DUOPOLY WATCH | Steven Jonas, MD, MPH
In the Sports section of the Sunday New
York Times of Jan. 31, 2016, the Times regular columnist William C. Rhoden wrote:
“As
he prepares to take the greatest stage in American sports, Cam Newton has used
the spotlight on him to discuss our country’s most persistent and vexing
problem: racism. Speaking to reporters on Wednesday, Newton, the starting
quarterback for the Carolina Panthers [of
the National Football League], ensured that Super Bowl week would
have a fiery discussion point when he suggested that the criticism of his
exuberant style of play might be rooted in racism.
‘‘’I’m
an African-American quarterback that scares people because they haven’t seen
nothing that they can compare me to,’ Newton said. As a result, Newton
suggested, he does not receive his due as a player: ‘I don’t think people have
seen what I am or what I’m trying to do.’ Racism is the third rail of American
consciousness, but raising it just before Super Bowl
festivities begin this week, ahead of the Panthers’ game
against the Denver Broncos on Feb. 7 in the San Francisco Bay Area, is
fascinating.”
I have a friend from Ghana who lives
here to earn money, which she sends back to Ghana. Her husband, two
children and mother live there, although they too could emigrate and live
here. Obviously, this is a temporary arrangement. But why, I asked,
would her husband and family not want to live here? Is it the racism, I
asked. Without hesitation, she replied “yes.”
Some years ago, I was riding up on a
chair lift at the ski resort at Breckenridge, CO. I happened to be riding
with a young, white, couple, who were visiting from South Africa. They
made it clear that they were very happy that Apartheid was behind their beloved
country. We got to talking a bit about their experiences in the United
States. Not shy, and picking up my vibes that I am left-wing, they
allowed that one of their impressions of the United States was that they had
never been in such a racist country. Two anti-Apartheid whites from South
Africa!
We know the origins of racism in this
country. White supremacy and its close companion racism/racial
superiority, were concepts invented in the 17th century South in
order to justify slavery and also to sell it to the poor white,
non-slaveholding farmers. The Civil War was fought over slavery (there
were of course other issues, but none that either side would have gone to war
over — in fact the South made it very
clear that they were fighting to preserve it). So.
Slavery gone. Shouldn’t the doctrine of White Supremacy and its evil twin
racism go, too? Well, no.
It is well-known that the Southern
ruling class never gave up, that they fought against every aspect of
Reconstruction and won that battle, that they re-established segregation in the
South, and that even after the struggles that led to the passage of the Civil
and Voting Rights Acts of the 1960s, the Doctrine of White Supremacy and racism
have continued to underlie politics in the United States and exert tremendous
power over the political and governmental processes. But why should that
be? The answer is a simple one.
Since the time of Reconstruction, there
has always been a major U.S. political party which has set its ideological and
political foundation on the Doctrine of White Supremacy and racism. It
has centered its geographical nexus on the Old South. From the end of the
Civil War until the Civil Rights Era of the 1960s it was, of course, the
Democratic Party. There was some historical logic to this because from the
time, in the early 19th century when the existence/preservation of
slavery had begun to become a political question (see the Missouri Compromise
of 1820), it had been the Party of Slavery.
However, we all know that when in the
1960s the Democratic Party under John F. Kennedy, Lyndon Johnson and Hubert
Humphrey became the party of Civil Rights, that when Richard Nixon smelled a
political opportunity, he and his team created the “Southern Strategy.”
In one of the great ironies of history, “The Party of Lincoln” (and some
Republicans still have the temerity to refer to themselves in that way) became
the party of white supremacy and racism, with its geographical fulcrum in
the South. They did this, of course, not because they necessarily
believed in the Doctrine (like, for example, George Wallace did), but because
they thought that adopting it would be the way to secure their political power
in the future.
The United States continues to exist as
a racist nation precisely because one of its two principal political parties
runs on it. Cam Newton can feel the racism, a Ghanaian family that could
(legally) emigrate chooses not to, two white anti-Apartheid South Africans tell
me that they have never been in such a racist country, solely because one
political party owes its continued existence to it. Can you imagine where
our nation would be if this situation did not exist? Can you imagine if
both major political parties rejected racism as doctrine and ran on the real
issues that affect us? Of course, if the Republicans had to run on what they really
stand for they would not remain standing for long. But that is
another matter. (With the Democrats the only game in town, the prop of “Lesser
Evilism” would also melt away, exposing that party for the criminal fraud
it is.) Of course, as the intra-Republican competition becomes ever-more
intense (especially between the two Latinos) as to who is the more anti-Latino
immigrant, it should be pointed out (as I have previously)
that a general "anti-immigrant" theme has been part of the Republican
Party since the time in the 1850s that the "Know-Nothings" were a
part of its founding coalition.
This brings us to the Repubs. and
religion (about which I have also written
recently). In a nation that supposedly has separation of
church and state under the Constitution, that among other things (like the
plain language of the Constitution, see Article VI and the First Amendment) numerous Presidents, both 19th
and 20th century, have endorsed, many Republican
candidates, even more so this year, are markedly focused on religion, of a
particular kind. Do you want to get really worried? See Frank
Bruni’s column, “The GOP’s Holy War.”
And then take a look at the religious-sermon ad of the supposed “mainstream”
Republican Marco Rubio. It begins with this:
“Our goal is eternity, the
ability to live alongside our Creator for all time. To accept the free gift of
salvation offered to us by Jesus Christ. The struggle on a daily basis as
a Christian is to remind ourselves of this. The purpose of our life is to
cooperate with God’s plan. To those whom much have been given, much is
expected. And we will be asked to account for that. Were your treasures stored
up on earth or in heaven? And to me, I try to allow that to influence me in
everything that I do.”
And this man, this Republican, wants to
be President of the United Sates. Combine this with their racism, and the
Republicans offer us a deadly mixture. The Republicans USE these religious-based
doctrines just the way they use racism: to promote their political objectives
to support their central economic doctrines/policies. Let’s hope that
someone in the Duopoly begins to wake up to this reality and begins to fight
the fight on the issues on which it should be fought, before it’s too late (and
in that regard, see my book The 15% Solution).
Who do I think will win the GOP
nomination? It’s neither of the out-front Christian Rightists (Cruz and
Rubio --- and given his paean to the Right-wing Christians above, why Rubio is
considered a “mainstream” Republican is absolutely beyond me) nor the Grand Narcissist.
I really don’t think that the Grand Poo-Bahs of the Republican Party will allow
that. It’s a recipe (thank goodness) for electoral disaster. Back in
August I said I thought the ticket would be Kasich-Fiorina, produced from a deadlocked
convention (which the Pooh-bahs will do their damnedest to arrange).
Another possibly from a deadlocked convention would be Pretty Boy Ryan, who
happens to be as reactionary
as they come when it comes to policy. But he has a “nice” look
and way about him (how about that beard?) But then the legendary
Depression Era gangster Pretty Boy Floyd, immortalized as Robin Hood type by Woodie
Guthrie, did, too. More on him (Pretty Boy Ryan) anon.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Senior Editor, Politics, Steven Jonas,
MD, MPH is a Professor Emeritus of Preventive Medicine at Stony Brook
University (NY) and author/co-author/editor/co-editor of over 30 books.
In addition to being Senior Editor, Politics, for The Greanville Post, he is: a
Contributor for American Politics to The Planetary Movement; a “Trusted
Author” for Op-Ed News.com; a contributor to the
“Writing for Godot”
section of Reader Supported News; and a contributor to From The G-Man. He is the
Editorial Director and a Contributing Author for TPJmagazine.us.
Further, he is an occasional Contributor to TheHarderStuff newsletter, BuzzFlash Commentary,
and Dandelion Salad.
Dr. Jonas’ latest book is The 15%
Solution: How the Republican Religious Right Took Control of the U.S.,
1981-2022: A Futuristic Novel, Brewster, NY, Trepper & Katz Impact Books, Punto Press Publishing, 2013,
and available on Amazon.
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