One Death Closer

This post may not end up being the most tasteful but neither was Jesse Helms, who died yesterday at the age of 86. Social conservatives were quick to laud Helms. The White House said, "America lost a great public servant and true patriot". I won't question his patriotism, though it may have been misplaced on some issues. He served in WWII so I have to give him credit for that. I will question his status as a "great public servant". Men like Helms are no such thing. They're great self servants, successfully pushing their own biases into the public forum.

Helms was a segregationist, though less and less outspoken as racism became more taboo. When he ran against Harvey Gannt, black former mayor of Charlotte, he aired a TV campaign ad that said "You needed that job, and you were the best qualified, but they had to give it to minority because of a racial quota." Racial quotas are definitely wrong, but the message was clear...vote for a black and lose your job.

Helms was an excellent representation of the ignorance spread by social conservatives. On the issue of homosexuality, he once attributed AIDS to "people deliberately engaging in unnatural acts." However, his shear stupidity may be best exemplified by this piece of direct-mail..."Your tax dollars are being used to pay for grade school classes that teach our children that CANNIBALISM, WIFE-SWAPPING, and the MURDER of infants and the elderly are acceptable behavior." I crack up every time I read that, especially when I realize there is more than one person who believes this stuff. Okay, I can kind of see how conservatives of the Helms variety are dumb enough to think that kids will become gay (cannibalism?) by hearing their teacher talk about tolerance (God forbid), but wife-swapping!

Helms' death takes the party one small step farther from the grasp of religious nut jobs and brings it one small step closer back to reason. He "served" this country far too long.