Not content to let the Alabama state legislature and the Mississippi Personhood movement solely vie for the title of Defender of Southern Ignorance,  the Tennessee Tea Party gave Massachusetts Representative Barney Frank a lovely send off. Of course, by lovely send off, I mean homophobic rant. At its core, though, this response was likely meant to generate attention for a group of people that desperately crave it.

This has led me to think about how we express outrage when offensive things are expressed in the public forum. It really is a conundrum. Our natural instinct is to assail those that spew vitriol against the things we hold dear. This can include everything from our favorite football team to a beloved politician. The thing we seem to forget in all of this, however, is the sticks and stones rule of the social media driven world we live in. To paraphrase, “sticks and stones may break my bones, but the more mentions on Twitter and Facebook, the worse it gets.”

So, where do we go from here? That is not an easy question to answer. Silence can often be interpreted as acquiescence. Such silence acquiesced to racism and bigotry, and allowed it to dominate this southern culture I hold dear for many, many years. Still, the Twitter and Facebook driven political discourse that currently dominates the national conversation can quickly spiral out of control. We can end up giving more value than we intended to the groups that we are denouncing.

So, what do we do? I’m not sure how to answer that question. I’ve spoken out many times against those that I find to be an affront to all that is lovely and fair. Nonetheless, I understand that I may be contributing to their cause. My only hope is that I also reach people of conscience. My only suggestion is that if you find yourself in a similar situation, you might measure your words for the best effect.

The right sure loves tout our American Exceptionalism. They run around saying it so much that I wonder who they are trying to convince. It is as if an admission of any fallibility on the part of any American is tantamount to treason. Unfortunately for them, however, it is that hubris that keeps us from being great. It keeps us from being exceptional.

Exceptional has nothing to do with prancing around the world, showing off our guns and telling everyone else how to live. Exceptional has nothing to do with browbeating anyone who has the temerity to question the way things are in this country. Exceptional has absolutely nothing to do with excoriating those that question the rights of the powerful few to stomp on the rights of the many powerless.

One of my biggest complaints is the fact that the evangelical church has become one of the biggest propagators of this myth of American Exceptionalism. The term evangelical comes from Matthew 28:19, which says, “Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit…” It’s as if this one passage gives them carte blanche to bulldoze over those that disagree with them.

However, they seem to forget what Christ said in the Beatitudes (Matthew 5:1-12):

Now when he saw the crowds, he went up on a mountainside and sat down. His disciples came to Him, ²and He began to teach them, saying:

³Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

⁴Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.

⁵Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.

⁶Blessed are those who hunger and thirst after righteousness,

for they will be filled.

⁷Blessed are the merciful, for they shall be shown mercy.

⁸Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.

⁹Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called the sons of God.

¹⁰Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

¹¹Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. ¹²Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

Those 12 verses are exceptional. Those words tell all of humankind how to treat one another. Those words, if followed, can make us truly exceptional.

I watched Bill Maher make an interesting statement the other night on Real Time. To paraphrase him, Americans are more liberal than they would admit to themselves. I found that interesting, because most of the people that rail against Occupy Wall Street and “Obamacare” are really people who would be aided by both. How many Republican leaning voters would be greatly aided by the health plan developed by the Obama administration? How many people who watch Fox News have been screwed over by the very banks OCW is protesting against?

I could safely say the answer is a large majority of the country. Many of these same Republican voters have been scared into distrusting the “other” they don’t understand. Health care reform with a government mandated requirement to have insurance? Must be socialism. Young adults sitting outside in tents protesting? Must be hippies and other ne’er do wells. However, none of this is really true. It is simply a situation of a President and a group of citizens standing up for a sense of fairness.

Now, don’t get me wrong. Even though President Obama can cast a spell over me with his magic Kool-Aid, I can still admit that he is not a bastion of altruism. There is certainly a political calculation in his moves. Nonetheless, it is hard to argue against the fact that the Affordable Care Act would help people.

The bottom line is there are plenty of people that want there to be more fairness in our system of government these days. The people that put our economy in the tank should go to jail. There should be easier access to healthcare for all Americans. These are the simple truths of a free and just society. It’s about time conservative Americans realize they may not be as conservative as they think. When this realization hits, we may just be able to take our country back.

Governor Haslam,

I am having a hard time with your actions and the actions of state law enforcement regarding Occupy Nashville. Hastily drawn up ordinances and failure to release protestors after a judge ordered them to be released are the actions of a despot. Rather than governing like a popularly elected public official, your actions remind me more of those committed by recently fallen dictators.

Arresting a reporter? Sounds like what they do in Iran. Trumping up charges on said reporter? Sounds like what they did in Egypt under Mubarak. Hyperbole aside, this kind of thing should never happen in the United States of America, much less in Nashville, TN. I doubt your intentions were to trample on the Constitution, but your decision to push forward with the arrest of the protestors set this whole thing in motion. Worse, you sent the troopers in a second time even after a judge repudiated your troopers for the previous arrests.

I don’t care what your political affiliation is. If citizens are required to abide by the rule of law, so to should our government. Period. Our society is a little less free today. Even if your government has agreed to temporarily halt the arrests, the chilling affect of what has already happened has done its damage. It has already caused many people to doubt their ability to participate in what is supposed to be a free society.

Why haven’t you given a response that means anything? And no, removing the protestors for “safety reasons” does not cut it. In an ideal world, an independent body would investigate what happened, and ensure it never happens again. However, your continued silence on the matter says you don’t care about the disenfranchisement of the citizens you govern.

Will you ever give a thoughtful response to this matter? I would respect you a whole lot more if you did. Even if I didn’t agree with it.

UPDATE 11/14/11: Still no response from the Governor. I will post any response he gives. This is the second letter from me he has neglected to respond to. The worst part is even right wing nutjob Ron Ramsey had the courtesy to respond to me the last time I wrote him.