Friday, August 17, 2007

One person’s traitor

Spot doesn't think he's ever been called a traitor before; he's pretty sure that MNO hasn't either. But in comments to MNO's post about the Padilla verdict, that's what Swiftee and some of the blog chihuahuas (term on loan from Charlie) he sent over have said. Perhaps you can hear them yapping even now if you listen for it, boys and girls.

Spot will let MNO speak for herself, but as for himself, Spot embraces the term when leveled by the cretinous, spittle-flecked Swiftee and the yobs who agree with him. Spot is a traitor to what Swiftee calls "his country." Maybe not so much traitor as enemy, because Spot has never been a citizen of the country of Swiftee's mind: the ignorant, the bigoted, the intolerant, the completely selfish, the deeply frightened and paranoid, the torch and pitchfork crowd; the country inhabited by persons who believe in salvation by adherence to the formulaic brand of Christianity preached by sweaty demagogues and snake handlers. A country of denizens devoid of both ethical decision-making systems and the mental capacity to use them; dwellers in a land where genuine historical memory—unlike the fifth grader's story book version—is erased.

In other words, a land where civilization can only be found in archeology.

If a dog had been treated as Padilla was, Swiftee and the blog chihuahuas would be in full cry, denouncing the perpetrators.

We may count ourselves as lucky, boys and girls, at least thus far, that the Swiftee nation lives only in Swiftee's fevered imagination. It is astonishing, however, that we have traveled the road of totalitarianism far enough that Swiftee can express his moral vacancy without shame.

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