Legislative Intolerance: Mexican is the New Gay

As Hunter Thompson said, the American Century is over. All we have left is fear and loathing.

I've tried so hard to avoid politics lately, or what used to be politics -- politics ended when the Bush Cabal stole two elections in a row. I can't even watch the news anymore on TV, and I'm thinking of having the cable disconnected. I can get what passes for news these days on the internet, story by story on a far cooler medium where I don't have the assininity of modern America thrown in my face by brainless hacks.

I haven't said a word on this blog about the continuing slow death of our Constitution, about how the "government" grows its slimy tentacles of inquisition inside our bodies and our lives like a cancer of the soul (yeah, the soul is a social concept but give me some license here). About the wiretaps and the phone records. I've been applying for jobs lately, which doesn't really make me festive anyway, but the information they can demand and get these days would have started a revolution among our forefathers in previous, saner generationss -- and by "they" I mean in this instance the employers and the mercenary inquisitors who search like mortgage lenders through the sins of your youth for bloody gold; but overall I mean all of us in our ignorance who have allowed this monster to grow within the public body. But I haven't written about all that, because it's right in your face now, and if you can't see it for yourselves, I hope your God helps you because there's nothing else I can do.

But that's not what I'm writing about today. The obvious evil that's been huddling on the horizon has descended to the valley. I'm wondering what took them so long; it's been so obvious. Last night at 2 a.m. I got up and checked the internet, and was confronted with the following story on CNN:

Senate says English is national, unifying tongue

By Donna Smith Thu May 18, 9:33 PM ET

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Senate agreed on Thursday to make English the national language of the United States and moments later also adopted a milder alternative calling English the country's "unifying language."

Which amendment ends up in the final version of an overhaul of U.S. immigration law will depend on negotiations with the U.S. House of Representatives. Neither would bar the use of Spanish or other languages in government services.

The Senate immigration plan couples tightened border security and enforcement and a guest-worker program with measures giving a path to citizenship to some of the 12 million illegal immigrants, most from Spanish-speaking nations.

"This is not just about preserving our culture and heritage, but also about bettering the odds for our nation's newest potential citizens," said Oklahoma Republican James Inhofe, who sponsored the national language amendment, which passed by a vote of 63-34.

The United States currently has no official language and some lawmakers said they feared Inhofe's amendment would lead to discrimination against people who are not proficient in English. They also said it could hurt efforts to promote public health and safety in other languages.

"Although the intent may not be there, I really believe this amendment is racist. I believe it is directed at people who speak Spanish," Senate Democratic leader Harry Reid of Nevada said.

The issue is politically popular, and in a congressional election year lawmakers strongly supported both measures. Inhofe said opinion polls showed 84 percent of Americans supported making English the national language.

The Senate, by 58-39, also agreed to an alternative offered by Sen. Ken Salazar, a Colorado Democrat, stating "English is the common and unifying language of the United States that helps provide unity for the people of the United States."

When I got up for real this morning, the headline was gone and I had to look up the story, like it had been deemed either unimportant or unreportable by the Bush Cabal censors. I copied the relevant portions here because links have been known to disappear.

So it's official now: Hispanic is the new Gay. The gay-bashers of two years ago are the xenophobes of today (someone give me a more specific word for the phobia for unreasonable fear of Mexican immigrants, please).

Can't you see that it's all about fear? Fear and loathing, but loathing comes from fear. In Buddhism we say, and I paraphrase, that the three great obstacles to "enlightenment" (i.e. properly living in our world) are greed, hatred and ignorance, but it all comes down to ignorance in the end, now doesn't it? And fear comes from ignorance too, for most of us. There is a primal, real animal fear that comes when you're about to be munched by a beast with claws, but with us it's usually not that, it's a conditioned response brought about by our ignorance. So we haven't learned that the ones we should fear are the ones who are manipulating our own fear responses, and we let them because of our ignorance. And yes, it's their own ignorance that makes them do it, to think they have something to gain. As much as I can talk about evil, I really don't believe in it. The smirking face of evil in our time is the awful grimance of George W. Bush, the public face of a moral and social cancer that's eaten our nation, our civilization, and everything our forefathers died for; but it's just a mask for ignorance. He, too, and his puppetmasters will die alone with only their own existence staring them in their double faces.

As I've said before, there is nothing in our Constitution to stop the hatemongers and fearful Anglomaniacs from making English the national language. So did you ever what has stopped previous generations from doing this? Was it because it was unnecessary? Or was it because they were still enough in touch with their consciences to know that it was just wrong?

I know this was tried on a State level in Colorado in the late '80's or very early '90's and it was shut down. I can't remember why. State Constitution? Oh, and by the way, those of you who want to comment on these blog entries but are either too inept or lazy to register with blogspot, or who just don't want their comments posted publicly, can now email me; the link is in the full profile. So let me know if you remember the legalities here.

I guess the fearful and loathsome think this country was settled by English-speaking immigrants alone. I recommend an elementary-school history course. I understand that history is no longer taught in the schools, so you'll have to find someone over thirty to help you. If you're over thirty and don't know any better, shame on you. I'm about 6.25% Cherokee, so I recommend making Cherokee the national language. They were here first. It was their country. But oh yeah, we killed most of them off, didn't we, and most of them who can still speak at all speak English only, probably.

So Hunter, be glad you took your ticket out when you did, and didn't have to see it getting worse and worse. I'm glad my mother didn't have to see it. So now I'm going to meditate and hope I can get some equanimity back. And then I'm going to watch some anime. Anime makes me happy. Modern America makes me sick.