So far presidential candidate Rick Perry has called Social Security "a Ponzi Scheme," global warming "a hoax," and Obama's policies "Socialism." The Socialism remark is not that surprising as Republicans during the Roosevelt administration called Franklin Roosevelt's policies Socialism, too. I am getting tired of Republicans playing on the fears of ignorant people who unquestioningly accept whatever they are told as long as it lines up with their own beliefs and prejudices. The only thing that keeps me from giving up hope that these people will see the light are the words of another Republican, Abraham Lincoln, who said, "You can fool some of the people all of the time, and all of the people some of the time, but you can not fool all of the people all of the time."
The problem is I'm not sure the light is bright enough yet so that people can see beyond their own fears. Right now many people would still rather curse the darkness than light a candle. God forbid they light a candle and find our there are no dragons out there.
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I was talking to a50-something American lady who has lived in the UK for 30 years the other day, but who still has family in the US, with whom she spends 7 or 8 weeks of the year. The conversation moved from the wall-to-wall coerage of September 11th on our media, to politics in the US.
She said someting that I hadn't thought of before: "The problem isn't that the Republicans or the Democrats run the country, the problem is that God runs the country. Religion is just too powerful in the States still, and individuals on either side uses it as a reason and justification to do what they do, as it suits them, and the political climate at the time."
Interesting, I do agree religion is powerful in this country with too many people willing to drink the Kool-Aid without asking what's in it first. Kool-Aid is a refreshing beverage but if someone hands you a glass that has been poisoned, well, you are a fool if you drink it without question.
Spooky that you should pick Kool-Aid - the lady I mentioned was the person who showed me how to dye raw fleece with Kool-Aid. It is more powerful than chemical dyes!
That is spooky. I had heard that Kool-Aid is a great dye but that it only works on animal fibers and not on cotton or synthetics. I can understand it not working on synthetics since synthetics are made from petroleum but I wonder why it doesn't work on cotton fibers. I'll have to look that up.
Off the top of my head... it's all in the chemistry: cotton is a cellulose fibre, fleece/silk etc are proteins. Kool-Aid can be used on cotton, but the cotton has to be pre-mordanted to give the dye incorporated molecules to hang onto.
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