Byron York at the Washington Examiner pens a nice article today comparing the Glenn Beck "Restoring Honor" rally with the Big Labor "One Nation Working Together Rally" in Washington. There are a lot of mysteries in politics, but the question of why the Big Labor rally fell flat isn't one of them, according to York. To explain this, York draws out a clever insight inspired by Al Sharpton's address at the rally that could be a metaphor for the entire liberal establishment as it now reveals itself to us. Sharpton tried to energize the crowd by telling the story of Ezekiel who saw a valley of dry bones and brought them together to make new life (though, as York points out, Sharpton neglects to mention the miraculous intervention of God in this). What we are left with, York notes, is ". . . Sharpton's striking image of the Democratic Party as a bunch of old, dry bones."
Considering the shrinking size and importance of labor unions (at least of the private sector variety), the tired old saws that animate what remains of the loyal Democrat party, and the disillusioned and now wavering young people who were burned by "hope and change," old, dry and disjointed bones do seem a perfect metaphor for the Democrats.
But lest Republicans get too confident amidst the coming groundswell aimed in their direction, they ought to abide
this message from a young, connected and anything but dry Republican governor.
What I take from this despite Gov. Christies warning that republicans became "tax-spend lite." Is that republicans are tax-spend lite.
Or rather that democrats favor slightly more taxes and slightly more spending, while republicans want slightly less spending and slightly less taxes.
Naturally consensus is formed around slightly more spending and less taxes.
In addition to this as it is always fun and memorable for speakers like Sharpton to draw metaphors, you are quite right to warn against this as it creates a singular focus.
You grab the "Wall of Seperation" from Jefferson and pretty soon it is constitutionalized in Everson.
Justice Cardozo once said that "metaphors...are to be narrowly watched, for starting as devices to liberate thought, they end often by enslaving it."
But starting from the slavery of Sharpton's dry biblical bones, and proggressing to the tax-spend lite of Gov Christie the only thing I am left thinking is that I am thirsty and better grab a bud light.
But lets suppose that the real question is the type of america we are going to have, one with a focus upon free enterprise, or one closer to the so called European welfare state. Now lets suppose the stupid bud-light metaphor lingers in my mind...Do we want to be like Germany and have thousands of wonderful beers, or do we want to drink Bud-light?
To be slightly more serious the debate is between Hayek and Keynes. Then again I am stuck on the idea that in the long run we are all a bunch of old, dry bones. And while neither I nor Sharpton are God, it doesn't take a miracle to bring together these old dry bones and make a big picture with flesh. We can't bring back Hayek and Keynes, these two are dead and long gone. Sharpton can't bring back MLK or JFK, but he can cast the debate in a dream.
Sharpton tried to energize the crowd by telling the story of Ezekiel who saw a valley of dry bones and brought them together to make new life (though, as York points out, Sharpton neglects to mention the miraculous intervention of God in this).
A striking omission. The main point of that passage was to show Ezekiel how he himself had no power and that all things come from God, up to, including, and surpassing the creation of life from dry bones.
What we are left with, York notes, is ". . . Sharpton's striking image of the Democratic Party as a bunch of old, dry bones."
That I don't agree with. Sharpton was likely trying to suggest that the Democrats would take the wreckage leftover from Republican and Conservative leadership (the dry bones) and bring from that a resurrected world. To any liberal that would be, I think, the first idea that came to mind. And that was the audience -- liberals and the liberal base.
"And that was the audience -- liberals and the liberal base."
Precisely. Dry bones. It doesn't matter what comes to the "mind" of dry bones unless there is Something or Someone to breathe life into them so they can appeal to an audience larger than dry bones. Is that "Someone" Al Sharpton? Hardly. This demonstration was one giant impolite expression involving the geometric shape that expresses itself in an equal distance from the center at all points. It also involved several jerks.