Provoking thought....

A few days ago I had the privilege, mercifully short-lived, of driving behind "the flag-waving gun-toting God-fearing voting conservative that the liberals warned you about." Besides that identifier, there were several others including "Impeach Obama" and this, er, food for thought: A caricature of our president urinating upon "first the constitution, then We the People." This kind of protected speech stirs me (1) to be sure I get out and vote and (2) to consider "toting," too, lest such intellectuals as that be the only armed citizens driving around.

It is increasingly apparent that the nation lost its one and only intelligent conservative on February 28, 2008, when William F. Buckley died. Indeed, isn't a given society's right wing opposed, heart of hearts, to thought?

Let us analyze. Let's take a legal-size sheet of paper and list stuff in a right and left column.

We want to consider indicators of brain power, smarts, sophistication. Okay, which side do we put "college education" on? Well, that would go opposite such items as "strict Bible creationism" and "overalls."

On this side, tree huggers who would save the whales, etc., hippies and gays and Jews and writer types. On the other, you got your "19 kids and counting," your truck for a car, your Sarah Palin's Alaska, where they exult in tossing the bloody beating hearts of hapless critters before their wincing little daughters.

If the lyrical sentiment of "Kumbaya," "Puff the Magic Dragon" and "Where Have All the Flowers Gone?" must be jotted in our lefthand column, across from it (Willie Nelson or the Dixie Chicks notwithstanding), there is Merle. There is that spirit of, to quote Ray Wiley Hubbard, "kickin' hippies' asses and raisin' hell." Sure, the folk thing got kind of wussy there, but came through it all with good grades and graduated in the top quarter. Conservative country can take a lot of pride in what it is, but is it intelligent? Way hey ale, not eggs act Lee.

Opera and the arts versus Nascar. The Zen garden with koi pond versus bass fishing, and absinthe versus Coors.

Skipping down for the news & commentary line, I suppose NPR slash PBS goes goes flush left, then MSNBC next, which leaves room for Anderson Cooper. Now, just across the dividing line there appears Bill O'Reilly before it gets as bad as that bonehead, Glenn Beck -- but then, all the way over, lessee, who's an absolute bombastwit? Oh, yeah -- Rush Limbaugh. I know, we haven't the figures on IQ levels along that continuum, but just subjectively, whom are we kidding? You could sled down it.

To summarize, then, the liberal (or "progressive," as preferred by some) side is associated with intelligence and education. To be a conservative is to align proudly with the not-all-that-bright and just pretty much thump a drum of willful ignorance.

There, I said it. Ignite a cross in my yard.

SGTex

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photo courtesy of: www.enemyoftheleft.com