Oh, The Cleverness of Me

A couple instances of self-love in South Dakota.

Rep. Bill Napoli writes in the Rapid City Journal:

THE UGLY: That there are still people out there who believe we can "Negotiate" or "Go Along with these extremist sub-human terrorist murderers," and if we treat them nicely, they will be nice to us. Yeah, right!

What a great power to declare whole categories of people "sub-human."  While I admire Rep. Napoli's vigor in opposition to international terrorism, I wonder which other human beings he considers "sub-human."  Let's agree that certain actions are inhumane, i.e., not consistent with humanity.  But it precisely because the terrorists are human that we hold them morally accountable for their inhumane actions.  The law against murder is written on their hearts, yet they still murder.

Then there are the Sioux Falls High School Socialists.  For a while this story was even on Drudge.  I guess some right-wingers are put off by the young Bloomsbury Groupies.  Yet, the proper reaction is laughter.  One can just see these inchoate Trotsky's, having read a little Kerouac and a little Salinger, understood about half of it; read a little of the Communist Manifesto, understood about a quarter of it.  They listen to some trendy alternative music, wear this year's uniform of rebellion, and think social commentary peaked with "The Matrix."  They read The Nation and American Prospect and pat themselves on the back for being so much more socially aware than their superficial classmates.  One is reminded of the Pete Townsend song "Misunderstood."

Just wanna be misunderstood
Wanna be feared in my neighborhood
Just wanna be a moody man
Say things that nobody can understand

I wanna be obscure and oblique
Inscrutable and vague
So hard to pin down
I wanna leave open mouths when I speak
Want people to cry when I put them down

I wanna be either old or young
Don't like where I've ended up or where I begun
I always feel I must get things in the can
I just can't handle it the way I am

Why am I so straight and simple
People see through me like I'm made of glass
Why can't I deepen with graying temples
Am I growing out of my class

I always feel I should be somewhere else
I feel impatient like a girl on the shelf
They say that I should live sera sera
But I am such an ordinary star

Coolwalkingsmoothtalkingstraightsmokingfirestoking
Coolwalkingsmoothtalking, yeah

Just wanna be misunderstood
I wanna be feared in my neighborhood
Just wanna be a moody man
Say things that nobody can understand