And the doublespeak is more culturally pervasive than previously thought. Case in point. See this WSJ article: Wisconsin GOP Ends Union Stalemate. (I love good news.)
It says,
On Wednesday night, Republican senators convened on short notice and removed appropriations items from the bill to allow a vote on the remaining issues–including curbs on the collective-bargaining rights of public-employee unions. The vote to pass the amended bill was 18-1, with no Democratic senators present.
Republicans said they had waited long enough for Democrats to return to Madison. Democrats complained that their political rivals had abused their power. Spectators in the senate gallery screamed, “You are cowards,” while the vote was taken.
While the insane do have a right to scream almost anything they want, this particular scream is masquerading as reasoned political speech. Nothing new here. But for entertainment, let’s see how the statement fits in the context described by the WSJ. This senate was pressing ahead toward a balanced budget, through anti-democratic resistance by irresponsible colleagues, and despite the loud braying of threats by hungry union puppets. Is that really cowardice? No. It’s the exact opposite. Yet I have no doubt that the screamers truly believed their own words. A stunning display of doublespeak.
Meanwhile, three paragraphs down, we hear about those irresponsible colleagues:
Senate Democrats were driving back to Wisconsin after the Republican vote when they thought better of it and decided to remain in exile in Illinois, said Democratic Sen. Jon Erpenbach. He said they feared that Republicans would reassemble the original bill and force a vote on the whole thing. “We don’t trust them at all,” Mr. Erpenbach said.
Well, I suppose that’s supposed to be bravery. Instead of participating in the democratic legislative process for which they campaigned and were elected, these brave souls think better of returning to the state they serve. Apparently, they think that they might be victimized by the elected majority. In other words, they could lose a vote.
So the doublespeak in this case has risen to plain view. Of course, there is a plot behind the whole story too. Many of those brave senators hiding out in Illinois have most likely been in bed with public employee unions for a long time, a form of political corruption that has been allowed to fester legally for far too long. This symbiotic relationship has provided the unions with lackeys in the legislatures of the country, while keeping those politicians willing to pay the piper in secure political careers. Meanwhile, it’s the taxpayers and union members who really end up paying the piper, as the unions extract dues and taxes, using them to secure their own future, while forcing state and nation in a socialistic and fiscally shaky direction.
This norm of political corruption and doublespeak shows a society badly in need of moral guidance. It’s a good time for Christians to display the kind of “cowardice” recently shown in the Wisconsin senate. In other words, show up to life and defy the fuming threats of our enemy by fulfilling your God-given responsibilities in every aspect of your Christian vocation. We will be maligned. We may be harmed. We could even be put to death. It’s happened before. Yet not even death can deprive a Christian of the true life we already possess in Christ.