In its short mention of us in its Blog Watch section, the site accurately characterizes the
...Washington Post article that implies the citizens of Randolph, Utah, support Pres. Bush because they're ignorant, Dijon mustard-deprived hicks (see also here, here, here, here, here, here, here, and here)...What's interesting is the collection of intellectualoid links provided via the above entry, mostly penned by comfortable lefties who echo the Post's condescending laughter at the hix in the stix while betraying an astonishing arrogance and a lack of curiosity about the real world themselves. These earnest bloggers and commentators actually seem to believe the Gramscian gruel being fed to them by the MSM. But then, they're obviously much smarter and more intellectually diverse than your average fan of Chimpy BushMcHitler.
If you're interested in seeing just why the Democrats are no longer the majority party and are likely to remain wandering in the desert while the Promised Land lies just out of reach, click on a few of the links in the citation above. They're real eye openers. In case you had any doubts.
What's heartening about the citizens of Randolph, and what comes through in spite of reporter Finkel's nudge-nudge, wink-wink sniggering, is their pioneer fortitude and positive attitude. What can be perceived as insularity is, in fact, a bracing endorsement of that nearly-forgotten and very American virtue called "self-reliance." Randolphians' lives are tough and require fulltime attention to local details, not brie and chardonnay discussions of hairsplitting foreign policy nuances and comparative analyses of exotic mustards when the basic yellow stuff is good enough, and plenty cheap besides, wouldn't you know.
Furthermore, when they're in a pickle, citizens like those in Randolph don't feel sorry for themselves and instinctively cry out to the Democrat plantation masters for a handout. They proudly take care of themselves and don't feel "entitled" to mandatory assistance from others who, in turn, have their own families to worry about. No wonder these folks don't generally vote for the party of collectivists and redistributionists. It's really quite logical.
This is the kind of forthright attitude that built this country and made it the greatest power for progress and good that the world has ever known, lefty naysayers to the contrary. (Just why the hell do millions of immigrants try to get in here every year anyway, hmmm?) Self-confident and brimming with good humor, the good people of Randolph live life as it comes, do it all themselves, and don't have a lot of respect for whiners. Condescending 'Rats would never imagine inviting a boring and "out of touch" citizen of Randolph to their next smarmy Upper East Side cocktail party and Bush hate-fest. But then again, a citizen of Randolph just wouldn't care. As with Dijon mustard, they aren't really interested in the snarky attitudes of blue bi-coasters anyway. They don't need them.
We think that's downright admirable. And a genuine leading indicator of maturity and intelligence. Transfusions of which might prove highly beneficial for our blue-state, pink-tinged friends.
2 comments:
Interesting how your "side" read the article as poking fun at the rubes, while my "side" saw it as extolling the virtues of the "heartland" as opposed to the superficial day-trippers and their faux sophistication.
Thanks for the thoughtful comments, folks.
Fred w: I live in the DC Metro area. (Like Matt W.) Been here since the Levitation of the Pentagon, minus 4 years in South Carolina to get a Ph.D. it turned out I didn't need. I've seen a lot and some of it has not been pretty--on either side of the aisle.
The Posties were making fun of our friends in Utah. Trust me. It's typical of their snide attitude towards the right, and one grows to expect it from them. The writer simply couldn't believe that there were this many dumb, clueless people in one place. But except for the few dead giveaways I pointed out, he used that good old literary trick of letting people hang themselves with their own words. Good literature, lousy reporting.
Matt W: Early in life, I lived in places like Randolph. I don't need a Post reporter who visits a town once in order to make judgments for me. I've lived and worked with people like those in Randolph, and I happen to think they're the salt of the earth and one of the major reasons why this country is still here.
Gents, the right is hardly hypersensitive. If we were, we'd have slunk away a long time ago, given the vitriol trained on us 24/7 by our friends on the left. If you care to take a jaunt down a few entries in HazZzmat, you'll see another piece I wrote on "researchers" who have "proved" beyond any shadow of a doubt that Repubs are organic racists. You never know whether to laugh guys like this out of town or ring their collective clocks.
That having been said, in general, when we disagree with folks to our left, we're not being hypersensitive. We're simply disagreeing. There's a difference. My friends on the left, though, (and I do have them), seem to equate disagreement with sacrilege and just can't get past that. Seems like diversity is appreciated in everything but thought.
BTW, I took your dare (Hah!) and read your post Matt, and you seem like a civilized guy. (And I did read more than a few comments on each site before I wrote my own piece, and was pleased to see some divergence of opinion there.) But get a clue about us mind-numbed robots. Read a few entries at the Daily Kos, John Kerry's favorite blog, and related, scurrilous sites, and if you still think the Wonk is over the top, one of us is gonna have to recalibrate, and it probably won't be me.
Now that our mutual friends at UtahPolicy have introduced us, I plan to pay you both a visit now and then. Feel free to infiltrate HazZzmat from time to time yourselves.
Have a good evening.
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