Bill Kassel's Blog

Occasional reflections on religion, culture, politics, and anything else that comes into my mind...

bill kassel

Ideology & Politics

Hating Hate

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FORGET EMPTY GESTURES ON HATE
DEFEND THE 1ST AMENDMENT

I hate hate. I mean I really hate hate.

And I hate the haters who hate. I hate them because they’re so…well…so hateful. And I just hate that.

It’s a good thing Nancy Pelosi and the Democrats pushed for that anti-hate resolution.

There can be no question now that Americans believe hate is bad.

And that’s good.

Because we don’t want any haters around here.

People could get the idea that we tolerate hate. And I’d hate for them to think that.

Hate is intolerance. And tolerating that kind of intolerance is…intolerable.

–  –  –

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The Mind of the Left

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SLANDERING TRUMPSTERS WAS
LOGICAL TO JUSSIE SMOLLETT

The endless media cycle has already spun ’round several times since Jussie Smollett’s claim of being attacked by two Trump supporters was exposed as another pathetic victimization fantasy. This less-than-A-list actor is already fading into Jussie-Who? status.

He enjoyed a moment of fame when his IMDb ranking (a measure of recognizability with which Hollywood folk are obsessed) peaked at Number 10. But his character was written out of the last three current-season episodes of the series, “Empire,” on which he’s been featured. Will he recover? Maybe. But at the moment, his long-term employability is uncertain.

So if boosting his career was the motive for claiming persecution based on his intersectional characteristics of race and sexuality — as has been speculated — it probably wasn’t the shrewdest move.

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Anything She Wants

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ALEXANDRIA OCASIO-CORTEZ
BENEFITS FROM CUTENESS

In an episode of the comedy/detective TV series, “Monk,” Adrian Monk’s assistant, Natalie, suggests doing something to gain information that might help solve the week’s mystery. I can’t recall what mystery they were trying to solve or what Natalie suggested, but I do remember her idea was considered so outrageous that she couldn’t possibly get away with it. “I can do anything I want,” she replied serenely, “I’m cute.”

Indeed, Natalie expressed a great truth: Much is allowed — or forgiven — a girl who’s cute.

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Mysterious Ways

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STATE OF THE UNION ADDRESS
ANOTHER TRUMPIAN TRIUMPH

The Donald’s bravura performance in his State of the Union Address, and the overwhelming burst of public approval following it, remind us that individuals make history.

Unshaken by the scowling faces of those women in white — indeed, clearly amused by them — the President managed once again to put Democrats on the back foot in their resistance to his Great Wall of Trump. And pretty much everything else as well.

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The Beat Goes On

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JUMPING TO CONCLUSIONS
ABOUT THOSE COVINGTON BOYS

My friend and former Hillsdale College colleague, Dan Bisher, has gained some prominence as a regional historian through his book, Faded Memories, which examines Michigan’s frontier period, as well as through presentations he gives at libraries and schools.

A special focus of his work is the Potawatomi Indian culture that flourished in south-central Michigan until the infamous “Trail of Tears” episode that saw removal of indigenous people to reservations in the American southwest.

Dan’s talks are well attended, and they generate plenty of questions, especially from children, who are always interested in native American life.

Indian lore is a fascination for kids, exposed as they are from a young age to storybooks, TV shows, movies, and school lessons about the earliest residents of the Western Hemisphere. When they learn about the displacement of native culture by European civilization, youngsters tend to feel a special empathy that blends romance, nostalgia and a sense of loss. I dare say no other people have quite the same hold on their hearts as American Indians do.

Which is why I was quite perplexed when I saw the first video images of those Covington, Kentucky, school boys confronted by a native drummer on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial.

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Be Strong, Donald

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THIS IS A DECISIVE MOMENT
IN OUR NATION’S HISTORY

I had the feeling Tuesday night that we were watching a truly historic event. A decisive moment, as it were.

In his nationally televised message The Donald laid out his case for a southern border wall — or a barrier, or a high fence, or whatever you wish to call it.

We’ve heard his appeal before, of course. The media never tire of categorizing it as his “key campaign promise,” as if that somehow minimizes its importance.

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Season of Hope

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GIVE OPTIMISM A
CHANCE TO BE BORN

Feeling gloomy about the state of the world — a mood into which I fall more frequently than I care to admit — I unburdened myself to a friendly priest. His response was, in essence…

“Lighten up. The world always has problems. And anyway, it’s Christmastime, the season of hope.”

That observation, while not especially fresh or insightful, is nonetheless true. And it does help to reestablish a certain sense of perspective when…

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A Token of Good Will

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THE GREETING “MERRY CHRISTMAS”
EXPRESSES GENEROSITY OF SPIRIT

While our annual debate over the holiday greeting “Merry Christmas” seems to have lost some sharpness, the issue is far from settled.

There are plenty of folks who still charge Christians with cultural imperialism. Likewise, the impulse to defend the traditional salutation asserts itself regularly.

While I surely see that some of the anti-“Merry Christmas” sentiment expresses rejection of Christianity (or even outright attacks on the Faith), there’s also a good deal of simple misunderstanding about what the greeting really conveys.

Back in December of 2013 I posted an essay that attempted to clarify what people mean when they wish someone “Merry Christmas” (or at least what I mean by it). I’ve reposted the piece in subsequent years.

As it remains relevant, here it is again…

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Becky

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WHITE, MIDDLE-CLASS WOMEN
NOW SCORNED BY THE LEFT

For onto half a century you white, middle-class girls were considered the future of the world.

Your tastes and preferences set the direction of style, driving the consumer economy.

You were the market segment most pursued, the voting bloc most courted.

Barriers were removed and glass ceilings shattered so that you might attain new heights of educational and career success, your leadership potential realized at last.

You were the backbone of the Church. Even a pope (John Paul) hailed your special “feminine genius.”

You were WOMAN, and we heard you roar.

Alas, how things do change.

After being less than enthusiastic about Hillary Clinton in 2016 and failing to thoroughly rebuke Donald Trump in the election just passed, you are being called out as a bunch of narrow-minded, selfish, husband-dominated, and — wait for it — RACIST harpies.

You are…Becky.

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Us

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WHAT THE ELECTION
IS REALLY ALL ABOUT

It can be edifying to go back and reread commentaries from a few years past. They refresh the memory about issues debated and battles fought.

Sometimes they can surprise by showing how little has changed. More often, they reveal the beginnings of ideas and themes that would infuse later arguments.

During the run-up to 2016’s Presidential election, author and television writer Shalom Auslander penned an op-ed for the Washington Post in which he explored the comparison between Adolph Hitler and The Donald then becoming a popular anti-Trump rant. Auslander wasn’t fond of the comparison, and actually felt that it belittled Hitler…

“Hitler was a megalomaniacal psychopath who should burn in Hell for eternity,” he wrote. But at least der Führer was someone “who actually believed in something. There’s a difference. Trump is a two-bit con man. He’s playing the fools.”

The “fools,” of course, were us — which was Auslander’s main point. He wanted to show that Donald Trump could have gotten to where he was a genuine contender for President of the United States only because We The People were so irredeemably weak minded …

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Gifs, Tiffs & Tweets

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CONSIDERING AN UP-SIDE
TO ONLINE NASTINESS

The shared experiences of a society tend to reveal the attitudes of individuals within it.

For example, if you’ve ever watched film footage of the Nazi era in Germany — especially the great propaganda epics created by Joseph Goebbels and Leni Riefenstahl — you’ve probably been struck by the genuine enthusiasm of the crowds.

To be sure, the shots featured were selected and edited to demonstrate broad support for Hitler and his movement. But the overwhelming numbers of enraptured faces recorded on film leave no doubt that large portions of the German population were swept up in a collective frenzy.

Those folks would feel differently by the end of World War II, when Germany was in ruins and enthusiasm had turned to anguish. But at Nazism’s rise, many people opened their hearts to der Führer, embracing his promises as their own personal hopes.

Today we’re watching the attitudes of individuals reveal themselves in the unique confluence of politics and social media.

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