An ‘Extremist’ in the United States
An Extremist in the United States
By Robert Jensen on 26/12/2015
I am a mild-mannered (a polite term for boring) white Christian man, born and raised in North Dakota, a state of the United States known for being mild-mannered. I teach university courses on freedom of expression and the role of journalism in a democratic society, concepts I take seriously. I also take seriously my obligation as a citizen to participate in conversations about public policy, but I avoid shouting. And I dont own any weapons.
But beware I am an extremist.
I am not extreme in the way that US politicians and pundits typically throw the term around these days. I dont advocate violence to establish a theocracy (whether Christian, Muslim, Jewish, Hindu, or other), and Im not much of a threat to anyone (except to students on days I drone on too long in lecture).
But I hold what are considered extreme political beliefs in todays mainstream US political dialogue, even though the conclusions Ive reached are not only sensible but strike me as essentially cautious maybe even conservative though not in the way that label gets used today.
I believe that the United States should be held accountable for its past and current violations of international law and basic moral principles. So, I oppose national fundamentalism, the belief in the inherent righteousness of my country.
More:
http://thewire.in/2015/12/26/an-extremist-in-the-united-states-18005/
choie
(4,111 posts)thanks Judi Lynn!
Scuba
(53,475 posts)Bluenorthwest
(45,319 posts)most bigoted States, still enshrines the right to discriminate, officials from ND regularly say horrible things about LGBT. Historically they have generations of wrongs to account for, they ended forced sterilizations in the 1960's. Mild mannered? Not in my opinion. Sorry.
I could not read past his self praise.