Letter:
Far right
Published: Wednesday, October 30, 2013 in Sun Journal New Bern
On a number of occasions the
Sun Journal has identified certain members of the Craven County GOP as being
“far right.” Perhaps that type of label sells newspapers, but exactly what does
“far right” mean? According to Wikipedia: “The terms far right, or extreme
right, describe the broad range of political groups and ideologies usually
taken to be further to the right of the mainstream center-right on the
traditional left-right spectrum. Far right politics commonly involves support
for social inequality and social hierarchy, elements of social conservatism and
opposition to most forms of liberalism and socialism. Both terms are also used
to describe Nazi and fascist movements, and other groups who hold extreme
nationalist, chauvinist, xenophobic, racist, religious fundamentalist or
reactionary views. The most extreme right-wing movements have pursued
oppression and genocide against groups of people on the basis of their alleged
inferiority.”
After reading that definition,
one might assume the Craven County GOP has been invaded by the Ku Klux Klan (who were Democrats) or
some other such misguided group. However, that’s just not the case. The
“faction” consists of individuals who believe every Republican in Craven County
Different scales have been
used over the years to describe political beliefs. Many of us ascribe to the
belief that on one end of that scale is anarchy and on the other is tyranny (what our Founders believe by the way). We
prescribe to the balanced center, as we know that men are not angels and some
government is required for a civilized society. In fact, “We The People” made a
social compact to give the government enumerated powers as outlined in the
Constitution, because government is instituted by the people and they derive
their just powers from us. If the government follows the rules laid out in the
Constitution, the social compact stays intact. However, many of us in the
GOP believe the social compact is broken, and we believe it depends on those
among us who value the 4,400 words of the Constitution to get us back on track.
Because we do not have blind allegiance to the GOP and we are aware that some
in our own party have abused their power, we are attempting to restore the
social compact to its rightful balance.
The First Amendment of the
Bill of Rights protects the freedom of the press, among other things. We
implore the Sun Journal and all other media to use measured words, and to
refrain from using slanted (and often incorrect) verbiage when reporting.
Opinions belong on the editorial page, not the front page.
Nancy Murdoch, Havelock
http://www.newbernsj.com/opinion/letters/letter-far-right-1.227100
Nancy's letter was in response to the following article:
