The title of today's post is a quote by a long-forgotten journalist upon the death of Virginia's iconic Sen. Harry F. Byrd, Sr. in October 1966. It's been etched on my brain since I first read it as a callow youth beginning college in Virginia. The quote recalls Byrd's massive resistance to civil rights for African-Americans and integration of Virginia's public schools.
Byrd was a dinosaur, but cedes nothing to today's subject. So from iconic we now regress to moronic...
The story of idiotic Rep. Jon Hubbard, a Republican Arkansas state legislator, is well-known by now. He self-published a book, Letters to the Editor: Confessions of a Frustrated Conservative, in which he makes some truly ridiculous assertions.
A description of the book from the Amazon.com site:
America is truly unique, so diametrically different from any other nation conceived. But many people don't understand and appreciate America's distinctive qualities. In Letters to the Editor, author Jon Michael Hubbard questions whether all of those who reside in the United States are capable of being Americans; he contends that America cannot be all things to all people. In this collection of letters written to newspaper editors, along with other related articles, the author shares his personal feelings and fears about an array of topics important in today's world, including: liberals, patriotism, the military, politics, government, education, race relations, immigration and Christianity. Providing a provocative and informative discussion, he also delves into other related topics such as national security, energy issues, American industry, the mortgage crisis, and a woman's right to choose. In Letters to the Editor, Hubbard, a Vietnam era veteran with a deep love for this country, describes what it's like to be a true American who understands and appreciates what this land offers. The mindset of a true American is fueled by ambition and a burning desire to succeed. Being an American is definitely not to be taken for granted.
Here are some quotes from Hubbard's opus, courtesy of Michael Cook at
TalkBusiness.net (via Janet Shan at Hinterland Gazette, the source of the photo):
“… the institution of slavery that the black race has long believed to be an abomination upon its people may actually have been a blessing in disguise. The blacks who could endure those conditions and circumstances would someday be rewarded with citizenship in the greatest nation ever established upon the face of the Earth.” (Pages 183-89)
“… one of the stated purposes of school integration was to bring black students up to a level close to that of white students. But, to the great disappointment of everyone, the results of this theory worked exactly in reverse of its intended purpose, and instead of black students rising to the educational levels previously attained by white students, the white students dropped to the level of black students. To make matters worse the lack of discipline and ambition of black students soon became shared by their white classmates, and our educational system has been in a steady decline ever since.” (Page 27)
African Americans must “understand that even while in the throes of slavery, their lives as Americans are likely much better than they ever would have enjoyed living in sub-Saharan Africa.”
“Knowing what we know today about life on the African continent, would an existence spent in slavery have been any crueler than a life spent in sub-Saharan Africa?” (Pages 93 and 189)
Hard to believe this guy is for real.
Now Hubbard is joined by his fellow Arkansan Republican, Charlie Fuqua, who wants to deport all Muslims (photo from his website).
I think I'm back in 1966.
“Both are antichrist in that they both deny that Jesus is God in the flesh of man, and the savior of mankind. They both also hold that their cause should take over the entire world through violent, bloody, revolution.” - Charlie Fuqua, referring to liberals and Muslims.
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