Policy Creationists

It's a new year and I've been cleaning out my email inbox and unsubscribing from a few
things that are either redundant, don't serve me, or piss me off. I was rather surprised
to find this group on that list, as we slouch towards health care reform in this schizophrenic country of ours.
http://fdlaction.firedoglake.com/2009/12/21/10-reasons-to-kill-the-senate-bill/

That's right, my ultra-progressive pinko friends, Fire Dog Lake. I'm done with them, and mostly for the post/email campaign action they sent out right before the Senate version of the Healthcare bill was signed. Maybe it's a combination of lack of time, lack of sleep, bullshit overload, or what fundraisers call "constituent exhaustion" but this thing was the fucking straw that broke this camel's back. After mulling it over a few days,an epiphany came to me in a bubble of coherent thought during my usual early-morning, pre-caffeinated haze.

Here it is. These people are the equivalent of Creationists, but with policy. They don't believe in Evolution. They are dogmatically, dyed-in-the-wool, inextricably bound to the idea of everything, and everybody of worth, being born perfect, and remaining perfect throughout their immortal lives. Or springing from the forehead of the father/mother God, fully armored and ready for battle, if you prefer the Greek version. But more than that, they don't believe in Evolution at all, as applied to everyday life. That it exists, and that things can change dramatically from what they were in the beginning, (toad-like things crawling out of the muck) to something that is indescribably beautiful and/or ugly and yet perfect because it is perfectly adapted to its environment, and also able to change as the environment changes.

Nope. Not this bunch. For them, a bill has to be the faultless creation of an omniscient God, preferably a beneficent dictator that they elected, whose actions are the perfectly timed distillation and shimmering result of this groups' cacophonous dreams and desires, shouted up to him/her via prayer and email.
No, I did not just compare Obama to the Messiah.
But maybe they did. Or really wanted him to live up to that impossible ideal.
And now, as it turns out, he's just human. And quite possibly, an imperfect politician, as well as a good man, loving husband and father.
But God? No. Our country just isn't set up that way. Even if Jesus himself were at the helm, He would have to defer to Congress on many things, including the price of salt and sorghum, and health care.
As an anthropologist, you know why this gets under my skin. To me it's plain as day that everything in its current state has evolved to that state, and will continue to evolve, or die. Even extinction is part of evolution. Nothing sprang forth from anywhere full-blown- it's all been an incredibly long, painful, beautiful process.
If you're a Creationist, you believe God created Earth and the Heavens in 7 days, and they were perfect and full-formed from the get-go. Much as they'd like to think of themselves in this way, our Congress Critters are not perfectly formed, much less God-like. Trust me, if a Congress of 459+ people had created the Earth rather than a single, all-knowing God, it would also be a watered-down, trite and hackneyed, though very well-intentioned, version of what we have now. Grizzly bears would not be allowed to eat themselves silly every salmon run, the Nile might make several jerry-mandered turns through Africa so every district gets a shot at the water, and flowers might have to hold a yearly convention with the bees so that everyone's on the same page. It would be bureaucratic pandelirium. So sure, I see the appeal of just having a dictator lay down the law and say, My way or the highway, you ignorant sluts.
But look around- everything here evolved on its own, and in concert with everything else around it, and as a result we have harmony. Well, we're fucking with the harmony, but underlying everything, I believe, is balance and harmony.

It's more than just my anthropologist's brain that's pissed off though. Our dear
friend Lindy died of a preventable, treatable form of cancer because she had
no health insurance, and therefore no health care, for a critical year, even though she was working full-time. I don't think she died so that a bunch of rich white kids who went to Ivy League schools could build their careers off her "story," while simultaneously launching their versions of Utopia and standing on shiny marble pilasters of Principle, for Christ's sake. If she is saying anything to us from beyond the grave, it is probably "Do something" and not "We Need More Sacrifices for The Cause," because, um, we don't. And she'd also probably say, Enjoy yourself, and Listen to more Pink Floyd.

In short, I've had with dogmatism and ideology, and I'm going to be pretty godamned dogmatic about that from now on. Be warned, all you list-serv masters around the globe. The legs of my proverbial in-box are slamming shut. Only the noblest of missives will get through.