Why fight it?

It feels like too long since the last post. Not too much has happened. Senator Craig is resigning (surprise surprise) and Bush made a "surprise" visit to Iraq. The looming report on our situation in Iraq is inching closer, scheduled for September 15. Hurricane Felix has made landfall by Nicaragua and Honduras. So on and so forth.

It's actually been a relatively quiet Labor Day weekend, and perhaps the somber atmosphere is to be expected - the unofficial end of summer is officially a downer for most people. But the hush seems tempered with a bit of apprehension, especially on the Republican side of things. The Craig scandal was not really even approached by the Democrats. Wisely, they decided on the most part to let the problems play themselves out, unabated. All they needed to do was stand out of the way, and let the media and general public make their own judgment calls. The Republicans, however, also seemed to be extremely quiet about the whole thing.

During the height of the Bill Clinton scandal and impeachment proceedings, Senator Craig ranted about Clinton being a "bad, naughty boy." Now, not only does this make him a hypocrite, it raises some red flags immediately. Craig didn't say "he has disgraced himself," or he has "acted highly inappropriately." Craig's diction amounts to a kind of dirty talk, something you'd hear while role playing, or fore-playing. Whether or not Craig "actually" solicited the undercover cop in the bathroom is debatable. But his admission of guilt skews the argument towards the affirmative. And that doesn't bode well for a conservative Republican who regularly denounced and outright campaigned against all things pertaining to the basic civil rights of homosexuals.

The Republican party has quietly pressed down the political pillow over Craig's head, smothering any further chances of his fight to stay in Congress. Now, if one compares this to other Republican scandals, it becomes clear why the Republicans acted so quickly, and coordinated their front fairly seamlessly. One, there is a Republican governor in Craig's home state, so the new appointee will most definitely be a Republican (one wonders what the party would have done to Craig if there was a Democratic governor). Two, there are only a few unforgivables in the Republican party, and it seems secret homosexual behaviors exposed is on the top of that list. The phenomena is an odd one, and seemingly predisposed to the Republican party. The Congressmen in the past who have secretly engaged in gay behavior, and then have been found out, are usually Republican. One theory is that their denial lies so deep that their behaviors and beliefs are cast in the complete opposite mold of what they truly feel deep down. Perhaps their ingrained value systems do align with the Republican platform, but then the question has to be asked: does a group of people actively seek out their own oppression? Even silent opposition without action is better than actively participating in a group's degradation. But this is the very heart of it- perhaps, because Congressman like Craig do not want to identify themselves in a way they believe or have been taught is against nature or religion, they bury it deep inside, keep it secret. In the very same way, by legislating vehemently against that which they are but ultimately have been taught to despise, they hope to either stamp it out, or cover their bases against detection. But zebras can't change their stripes, and donkeys can't become elephants. It is a wonderful thing, to have a world of various people, with different attributes and personalities. To deny ourselves the ability to be ourselves is a crime, and a most serious one when we commit such crimes against our very own being.