It’s In The Silence We Listen To

I am reading Ann Coulter’s book, Godless: The Church of Liberalism. Gasp in horror, go right ahead. I bought the book on the day it came out (6/6/06, fittingly) and while on the bus on my way home from work, in the midst of reading Coulter’s sentence “The whole panoply of nutty things liberals believe flows from their belief that man is just another animal”, the devil got on in Williamsburg. No, it wasn’t a hipster; instead, it was some hybrid of bad red and black striped tights (not striped in the flattering way), a black mini-skirt and shirt, wearing elaborate demon wings replete with pitchforked tail. She had some horns in her hair, was sweating profusely, and pushing around an old lady cart full of newspapers, which blocked the main door to the bus. As the bus moved down Bedford Avenue, “Damiana” could barely maintain her balance as she struggled alone with the cart and the papers falling out of them. At the next stop, a couple of elderly women tried to get off, but had some trouble maneuvering their way past the cart. One, unknowingly, dropped her glasses. “Someone dropped their glasses! Hello! Someone dropped their glasses!” faux demon spawn yelled. The woman got them back and thanked her.

What a nice devil.

Can the same be said about Coulter? While you may not agree with all she says (I certainly don’t), she makes many valid points and challenges people to think in typically “unsafe” ways. I think she says things that so many people are thinking in their head, but wouldn’t dare to say aloud. It is often the things we hold in our minds that carry the most weight—as a burden or not. Now I have just begun this book, so my full opinion is yet to be realized, but I have always thought Coulter gives her educated opinion on matters (from seeing her interviews and reading her short writings), which is much more than Michael Moore has ever done (in my opinion). Moore, wildly revered, is perhaps as frightening to me as Al Qaeda. When have lies and twisted truths ever shed light on a situation? To me, it only clouds it.

I saw a photo exhibit recently, and in one of the photos, a woman had a tattoo across her chest that read, “Hold on to the hate that has helped you stay focused”. I agree with this statement, but I also see how it is totally wrong. Oxymoronic, all of it.