Alan Colmes - Red, White & Liberal: How Left Is Right & Right Is Wrong

T hank you for buying this book. If youre borrowing it from a friend or, even better, the public library, youre more than welcome to pony up what you would have otherwise spent to the ACLU, one of my favorite groups. If the ACLU rubs you the wrong way (although it shouldnt; even Bob Barr is with them now), how about People for the American Way, The Southern Poverty Law Center, or the NAACP? If youre of modest means, or youre a conservative who is already nauseous at the mention of these groups, Ill be happy just that you read the darned thing. In fact, Im especially grateful if youre a nonliberal reading this. It shows a willingness to hear another point of view, even if you gnash your teeth while doing so.

For years, many on the left have ducked the L word. While characterized by the right as pink, the letter, unfortunately, has become tainted as scarlet. The right wing in America has been trying for years to claim ownership of God, family, and country. With the horror of September 11, 2001, came their attempt to seal that deal. The very first, knee-jerk reaction came from the far right wing in America, which blamed gays, the ACLU, and those who are prochoice for making America vulnerable to attack. Ironically, just as Reverend Jerry Falwell was claiming this to Reverend Pat Robertson, many of Falwells defenders were pointing fingers at those on the left who expressed concern about our foreign policies and angrily labeling them the Blame America First crowd. The first blame for September 11 was put squarely on liberals. When some liberals questioned the confluence of events that resulted in our vulnerability to terrorism, certain Americans who should know better have branded us as some kind of anti-American treason lobby. Those of us who have spoken out against the status quo have been told to keep our mouths shut and do our patriotic duty to support our country. Well, keeping our mouths shut is the opposite of our patriotic duty to our beloved country. As Thomas Jefferson said, Dissent is the highest form of patriotism.

Conservatives love to quote our forefathers to argue that they are the natural progenitors of the founders of this nation. But did our forefathers keep their mouths shut and not speak out against what they saw as egregious wrongs? Were they compliant followers of regimes? Or were they, indeed, radicals, who could not and would not bear life as it was? In fact, it was their outrage at the no longer acceptable status quo that inspired them to found their own government. Our founding fathers held dear individual liberty and the empowerment of the state to protect those liberties. Sounds a lot like liberal thought to me. Its hard to find a landmass on which to found a new government these days, but our experiment in democracy is working quite well. Our system doesnt require the founding of a new one, but it does need strong, courageous voices who arent cowed by a very loud and angry right wing, smug in its new assumption of power, and unwilling to give its fellow Americans on the left much credit for what weve achieved, together, as a nation.

One of the seminal liberal philosophers, John Rawls, described some of the fundamentals of liberalism in A Theory of Justice . Rawlss veil of ignorance theory was that if you didnt know your own circumstances and had the ability to make public policy, youd make policy that benefited the greatest number of people. The poor, the weak, the infirm, and the needy have few advocates, few who will fight for them, but many who try to make political hay from their plight.

Red, White & Liberal: A Users Guide

My comments here about other pundits, congressmen and congress-women, senators, and President Bush are never personal. My differences are on policy and vision, on how we interpret where we are and how to get to where we should be. President Bush, for example, to whom I refer throughout this book as 43 (to distinguish him from the forty-first POTUS, President George H. W. Bush), is one of the most charming politicians (and people, not that theyre mutually exclusive) Ive ever met. Ive liked him better the few times Ive spent a couple of minutes with him than Ive liked many on my own side politically, regardless of the amount of time Ive spent in their company. I dont even know where many of my friends stand politically. My friendships are based on mutual caring and trust, and those qualities are not confined to one side of the political spectrum (although, if we kept score, liberals would win; but were not keeping score; but wed win if we did; but were not).

Youll see passionate e-mails in Red, White & Liberal from some very angry conservatives who have automatic distrust of liberals, along with occasional antipathy for grammar, spelling, and the English language. As the cohost of Fox News Channels Hannity & Colmes , Im constantly under the looking glass. Its surreal to be in a profession in which people watch you do your job, and then feel no compunction about telling you off any time they dont like the job youre doing. Can you imagine having a job where the general public gets to respond to you like this?

From: ethinker

Sent: Wednesday, January 29, 2003 9:55 PM

To: colmes@foxnews.com

Subject: Ground teeth

Mr. Colmes,

On any given night, I cannot watch this broadcast past your second comment. If I could reach through the screen, Id crush your throat. You are a walking example of why spewing leftist BS ought to be a capital crime. Fortunately for you, you live in a society where stupidity is tolerated and that I dont act on impulse. But if I saw you dying in agonizing pain and by lifting a finger I could save you, after spitting in your face Id rush to find a video camera so I could relive the pleasure of those treasured moments again and again. Go join your pal in Baghdad; I hope you both catch the first bomb.

Most sincerely yours,
ethinker

Sometimes these responses provide a good laugh; other times, some frightening insights. Although most Americans dont look at life through the prism of left versus right, there are enough who do, and that subculture, on both sides of the political spectrum, represents a soft bigotry that rarely gets addressed in our culture. Thankfully, in life, we dont know how most of the people around us vote. There are, however, some rabid ideologues on each side who will be introduced to you at a luncheon and then right after Hello comes, Where do you stand on Roe versus Wade? Thanks for asking, but Id rather just enjoy my salad.

When I attended a Christmas party at the White House in 2001, I thanked President Bush for inviting me, especially in light of my ardent criticisms of his policies. My exact words were, Thank you for inviting a liberal to the White House. Without missing a beat, he looked me in the eye and said, Were all Americans. He couldnt have said it more succinctly or more profoundly. There are so many in this country who are just as moral, just as ethical, and just as American as those who believe that they alone own these characteristics. I hope and pray (and I can say pray because I am not writing this on public property) that conservatives who read this will understand the commitment, the passion, and the Americanism of the other side.

All the noise the conservative camp is making tends to obscure the truth about how Americans see themselves politically. A Harris poll conducted during the entire year of 2002, involving more than thirteen thousand phone interviews, showed that 34 percent of those polled considered themselves Democrats; 31 percent, Republicans; and 24 percent, Independents. Forty percent said their political philosophy was moderate, 35 percent said conservative, and 18 percent said liberal. This means that half dont consider themselves firmly in either camp; it also means that 65 percent dont consider themselves conservative.