Belief

David T. Lindsay

The lesson of Sisyphus is that you simply cannot win but are still doomed to repeat the futile gestures over and over. Belief is much the same game.

You commit a sin. Christians aren’t perfect but they are forgiven. So you commit another sin.

You vote for the Democratic Party because they are supposed to be the ones for peace and education and a sound environment.

“jeanneW”

But it’s the Democratic Party who has started every war in the 20th century. The Republicans ended their wars. It’s the Democratic Party who have encouraged government interference in the public schools that have lowered test scores. Republicans support vouchers that encourage hard working students to receive incentives. It’s been the Democratic Party who support open immigration creating more consumers who are entitled to their share of development and roads, all the while denouncing development, urban sprawl, and smog.

So you vote for Al Gore, another Democrat.

You believe in the words of Dr. Martin Luther King. You support civil rights and the “color blind” society he dreamt. But by embracing Affirmative Action initiatives rather than fighting against racial discrimination, you are demanding that discrimination be legalized and enforced on the basis of race. Instead of demanding a “color blind” society, you are saying that “color” needs to be the primary consideration.

So instead of teaching a child to read, so that he might overcome prejudice, it’s far easier to just protest the Confederate stars-and-bars on a State flag.

So what do I believe? That your contradictions will be your downfall. I believe that blacklisted screenwriters and directors in the 1950s got exactly what they deserved, because unlike joining Republican or Democratic Parties, these men were communists, have never denied being communists and as such they took their directions from a foreign government that sometimes ordered acts of criminal sabotage and treason. Furthermore, while I believe the political beliefs of Americans is a private matter, Congress is obligated to investigate acts of criminal violence whether they are performed by the United Klans of America or the Communist Party. The blacklisted cowards hid behind the very laws they found repulsive and Joe McCarthy merely used existing laws which these men supported to hunt down Nazis, to end their own treason. Have you ever heard the phrase “The Yanks ain’t coming!”? It was coined by the American Communist Party in response to Poland’s cry for help when Hitler invaded because these fellow travelers were completely behind Hitler until he turned on Stalin.

I believe that Joe McCarthy has been unfairly maligned by history. The only recourse allowed U.S. citizens against the spread of totalitarian ideals is to deny treasonous individuals their livelihood and make them suffer the shame and discomfort of being labeled guilty by suspicion.

I believe Bill Clinton hates Christians enough to murder 80 of them at Waco, and insult their most sacred holiday by kidnapping Elian Gonzalez at Easter. I believe Elian should stay with his Miami relatives since he clearly made it to shore and by law has asylum here. Juan Miguel is not his father because (1) he has never had custody of this kid and after the celebration ended, Castro’s first proclamation was to abolish the family and declare all children as property of the state. Furthermore, the first proclamation of American feminists was that men were no longer necessary and were biologically obsolete. Juan Miguel never had custody of Elian therefore there can be no reunification between father and son. Furthermore: (2) by returning Elian to Cuba, the Cuban exile community in America is demoralized. They are the only Cubans on earth who might someday bring freedom and capitalism back to the island, and Castro takes advantage of every opportunity to persecute and ridicule them.

I believe that by-and-large, the American people are conservative, as evidenced by every election for President since 1948. Harry Truman won that election by such a narrow margin the now-famous headline declared “Dewey Defeats Truman.” The 1960 election, it is now understood, was stolen by voting fraud for John Kennedy. Lyndon Johnson was elected in 1964 after accusing Barry Goldwater of being rash with nukes, saying that if he were elected President, Goldwater would aim missiles in Turkey at Moscow. The missiles were already there and only Johnson was privy to that information. Jimmy Carter became President by only a few thousand votes. And Bill Clinton won with less percentage of the vote (43%) that Mike Dukakis lost with (46%).

I believe Lester Bangs was a rotten writer who had lousy tastes in music: from J. Geils to Black Sabbath.

I believe that punk rock in ‘77 was the only unique direction rock n’ roll has taken since Buddy Holly died. I believe it still remains such.

I believe American Beauty was a bad choice for best film of 1999. It preached to the choir of liberal filmgoers and conveniently used a gun-owning, Nazi-collecting, ex-Marine as an excuse to have audiences identify with the extremes of Kevin Spacey’s lack of character.

I believe Fight Club and Eyes Wide Shut are better films.

I believe that Hollywood is out of touch with mainstream America and therefore makes elitist, amateurish soap operas that are passed off as film.

I believe fashion models are icy, sexless, and disproportionate to the average American female.

I believe feminism has ended.

I believe that women who have abortions don’t make good mothers and so abortion should remain legal. Having said that, I also believe that we should be careful because it’s only a short leap from ending life before it begins and ending life for those who’ve outlived their usefulness.

I believe the Founding Fathers understood mob rule as well as the tyranny of monarchs, and that even though the majority of Americans at the time were willing to accept being subjects of the King, that small minority who led the American Revolution forced them to be free.

I believe global warming is a fraud since we are coming out of an Ice Age. I believe we have more trouble with environmentalists than we do with the destruction of the environment.

I believe that there are more trees today in the year 2000 that there were in the year 1900 because our entire economy was based on wood back then: carriages, homes, food preparation, railroad tracks, printing, and heating fuel were all tied to lumber.

I believe that persistence, determination and reason will abide that stone rolling back downhill. ◼