Paranoia goes mainstream
Leonard Pitts Jr. (May 11) again hits the nail on the head. Most rational people will be hard pressed to disagree with Pitts, in that what now passes for mainstream conservatism used to be confined to the so-called lunatic fringe and anti-government extremists.
Early in Barack Obama’s presidency, my Republican friends were upset about the impending “immediate” confiscation of their guns, the “fact” that gay couples would soon have more rights than Christian heterosexuals and that undeserving minorities would be hired for all the best jobs, all according to their beloved Fox News and paranoid, alarmist and, dare I say, ignorant Republican friends. Of course, none of this happened.
The breathtaking, stupid alarmism that Gov. Greg Abbott displayed in ordering the Texas State Guard to monitor the eight-week U.S. military training exercise in Texas to supposedly safeguard his constituents’ civil liberties is just business as usual for the new lunatic fringe Republicans.
We used to say, “Oh, you are pulling my leg, right?” when we finally realized we were being duped after following someone down a rabbit’s path. No more. How sad that these people live in fear and distrust of their own government. I prefer a dose a calm rationality.
Delilah Dixon
Spokane