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Commentary - Apr 10, 2004 - Printable Version
- The Radical Middle
by Mark Faulk
I was driving home the other day, stuck in rush hour traffic, as usual, and I found myself listening to Bill O'Reilly, the poster boy of the Extreme Right, on the radio. Suddenly, I had a revelation, one so profound that I had to restrain myself from driving my car into oncoming traffic. With the New Wave of "extreme radical right" talk show hosts, such as Michael Medved (a second rate film critic turned third rate political commentator), Laura "Permanent PMS" Ingram, and Rusty "I always talk this loud" Humpheries, Bill O'Reilly is actually beginning to sound like- dare I say it- the voice of reason. That's right, incredibly, the Extreme Right has become so extreme that The O'Reilly Factor's motto "Fair and Balanced" is in danger of becoming more than just a wacky catchphrase. It was enough to send a sane person fleeing to the far left- or was it? First of all, I was clearly out of range of the nearest Air America affiliate (which means I live more than 20 miles inland from either coast), and secondly, I have to confess that I'm beginning to feel a bit out of touch with the sentiments of the Extreme Left as well. I have become, like most of mainstream America, adrift in the No-Man's Land realm of what I like to call "The Radical Middle".
The Radical Middle has no voice, we have no loud, over the top, venom-spewing talk show hosts espousing our political viewpoints. I grew up a Sixties (okay, mostly early Seventies, but that sounds so unhip) radical, first inspired by Martin Luther King and Bobby Kennedy, then disillusioned and hardened by their assasinations, and further transformed by the Kent State killings, the fiasco of the 1968 Democratic Convention, Vietnam, and Watergate. But then, something happened: I grew up, got married, had three kids, started my own business, and became (at least on the surface) middle-class. And while most young adults' greatest fear is becoming their parents, I was, in fact realizing my own greatest fear- becoming an Average American (see "Coming Out" at http://www.faulkingtruth.com/article/?FaulkingAround&1001 ). I went from volkswagen to small pickup, then to minivan, and finally, to a gas-guzzling American SUV. And I went from a beatup old farmhouse that my grandfather built 75 years ago to a slightly-larger house in the inner city to a pretty darn nice house in a suburban neighborhood with a private lake and a neighborhood swimming pool. Granted, the pool is 80 years old and the lake is barely big enough to turn a rowboat around in, but it's still more than I ever dreamed of owning.
And here's the faulking truth: I am no longer a card-carrying member of the radical left. I believe that being a kneejerk liberal is just as wrong as being a kneejerk conservative. While I still believe that women should have the right to choose, somewhere along the way, I personally became morally opposed to abortion (I think it was when I had kids of my own, and finally put a face on the unborn child). I don't agree with a lot of what the ACLU and Planned Parenthood say and do- I don't think protecting an unborn baby from a violent assault by a total stranger is the first step towards banning abortion. I don't like MTV and BET, and I believe that a lot of today's music (and the media) is corrupting America's youth. I wish kids would learn to "Just Say No" to drugs, and I think that marriage should be a sacred bond between two people (I didn't say it is a sacred bond between two people, I said it should be). I believe that strong family values and a good education are the backbone of this country. I believe in God, country, Mom, and apple pie (preferably ala mode´) Oh yeah, one more thing, I believe Howard Stern is a total moron with no redeeming social value whatsoever.
But, lest everyone out there thinks I've gone soft, let me reassure you that that is far from the truth. I said I'm no longer a card-carrying member of the radical left, I didn't say I'm no longer a radical. Like the Extreme Right, I believe that the "Elite Media" is corrupting our country, but I believe that the Extreme Right is the "Elite Media". I still think we have an obligation to help those in need, but not by destroying their countries. I believe that President Bush, the pharmacuetical companies, huge corporations, the oil companies, and nearly every politician in America is selling our country down the river for their own selfish gain. I don't believe that John Kerry is the savior of our country, but I do believe that he is the lesser of two evils. And I certainly don't believe that we should start legislating morals by making up new constitutional amendments (anyone remember prohibition?). I believe that the little guy gets the shaft time and again from the government, and that the Patriot Act is one step away from George Orwell's 1984. And I also believe that no matter how much we trust our law enforcement agencies, allowing them to conduct a search, any search, without a legal search warrant, is a violation of our Constitutional rights. Oh, yeah, I almost forgot, I believe that Rush Limbaugh is a total moron with no redeeming social value whatsoever.
This is also the faulking truth: While the media feeds the flames of unrest by presenting the polarized views of the Extreme Right and the Elite Left, Middle America, which actually includes the vast majority of Americans, is totally ignored. Turn on your television or open any magazine to any random page. The models are anorexic, the gays are flaming, the blacks are either pimps, gangsters or superjocks, the poor are toothless trailer trash, the women are sexcrazed self-indulgent narcissists, and the religious right is judgemental and condescending. Not one of the stereotypes represents mainsteam America in any way. We are invisible. It's time for us to speak up, to voice our opinions, as diverse as they may be, and to reclaim our country from the 10% on the right and the 10% on the left. It's time for America to hear from the Radical Middle.
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