Strange Bedfellows
One of the most inexplicable things about the state of contemporary American politics is what I will call the “strange bedfellows” syndrome: Again and again we see cooperation, support and even collusion between groups that are POLAR OPPOSITES and should, in fact, be adversaries.
The first, and most inexplicable, case of strange bedfellows is the strong alliance between so called “progressives” and pro Muslim groups, such as the pro Sharia C.A.I.R. (Council of American Islamic Relations). Now, anyone that has read “Reliance of The Traveller” or anyone with even a PASSING knowledge of Sharia law knows, or should know, that Sharia Law is absolutely incompatible with 98% of the progressive agenda. It is anti gay, anti woman, anti feminist, anti democracy, anti ecumenical, anti freedom of religion, anti free speech, and, ultimately, anti human rights. That such groups would even be TOLERATED by the progressives, much less supported by them, is truly inexplicable! But do we hear protests against Sharia from progressives? Do we hear their denunciation of Sharia? Do we hear disavowal of its principals? Do we hear even so much as disapproval? No, we don’t. Strange bedfellows.
Another example is the alliance of right wing conservatives with anti surveillance leftists. Over the past 8 years we have seen a frightening roll back in the surveillance laws and surveillance methods that allowed post 9/11 authorities to monitor our nation’s enemies and increase security for all of us. This roll back has been mostly spurred on by the American left, under the idea that surveillance violates our civil liberties. This, of course, is not surprising coming from the left. There was amazing support, however, for this roll back from the right as well! THAT is surprising. Did the right forget about 911? Did they forget ALL of the attacks that have occurred since. Did they forget all of the plots that have been foiled? If not, how could they possibly advocate LESS surveillance? Now, it is true that the Obama administration HAS used branches of the federal government as partisan Democrat operatives to carry out various liberal agendas. The IRS persecution of conservative organizations, and the Justice Department conservative “witch hunts” come immediately to mind, so there is certainly some justification for right wing mistrust. However, security and surveillance, in this day and age, are too vital to be curtailed, and the right wing should know this. So, instead of trying to curtail surveillance itself, they should have aggressively worked to challenge the Obama administration to stop their egregious partisan actions. But, instead, these groups were strong advocates of the roll back. Again, strange bedfellows.
•Another example is the support of American Jews for the activists on the far left, 95% of which are strongly anti Israel and, perhaps a bit more clandestinely, are anti semitic as well. The American left in general, and Mr. Obama in particular, have been horrible to the state of Israel. There have been the diplomatic “gaffs” and snubs. There has been the unashamedly obvious dictation of policy TO Israel. There has been our foolish support for the enemies of Israel. An to top it all off, there is the JCPOA (the Iran Nuclear deal) that poured ONE HUNDRED BILLION dollars into Iran (most of which will be used for nefarious purposes) and doesn’t even guarantee that Iran will not develop nuclear weapons! This treaty was passed in defiance of the strident objections of the Israeli Prime Minister, Mr. Benjamin Netanyahu, and MANY American Jews as well. On top of that, is the far left support of the BDS (Boycott Divest Sanction) Movement, Black Lives Matter and other groups that are not only anti Israel, but are openly, obviously and flagrantly anti Semitic! Strange bedfellows indeed!
Another example is the shocking degree of support of law abiding Blacks to the Black Lives Matter movement and the anti police and anti law enforcement movement that is ravaging our country. The amazing upsurge in black on black crime (robbery, rape and murder) that has followed in the wake of these movements has been well documented (the so-called Ferguson Effect). For example, there have been over three THOUSAND shootings in Chicago SO FAR this year: more that 1 every 3 hours! You would think that law abiding Blacks would strongly SUPPORT the police, who are truly their only protectors from the gangs and lone predators that prey on them. Yet, according to Pew Research, SIXTY FIVE PERCENT of Blacks support BLM! VERY strange bedfellows.
I’ll end with one more example: American Hispanics who support unlimited illegal immigration. This phenomena is quite puzzling, as an influx of illegal immigrants willing to work for lower wages than the Hispanics already here, would have major adverse effects on them: it would make finding a job and holding a job harder and would drive DOWN their salaries. Also, a large influx of illegals might result in an increase in crime in the primarily Latino neighborhoods where they live. A combination of decreased wages and increased crime SHOULD be enough to garner major Hispanic support for Donald Trump, who has pledged to end illegal immigration. However, according to NBC News/Survey Monkey, among American Hispanics Trump’s support is just under 33%. Strange bedfellows again!