On second thought, I think I'll go live in The Netherlands, instead of Korea. I heard yesterday that before immigrants to The Netherlands are granted residency visas, they have to watch a video of Dutch life, which includes images of nude women and gay couples kissing and then take a test on what they saw. (There is a special exception for countries where the film itself is illegal.) The Dutch are trying to maintain their liberal society against an onslaught of religious fundamentalists, primarily Islamic, who enter the country and then are offended with what they find there.
I'm thinking we could try a microcosm of the Dutch model here in the United States. Before you could move into one of the "blue" states; New York, California, Illinois, etc., you would have to watch a film extolling liberal values. Besides nudes and gays, you would see rich people paying their taxes, everybody getting universal health insurance cards, Tom DeLay being locked up in a jail cell, etc. Then you would have to take a test on what you saw and if you flunked, you would have to go live in some red state like Mississippi. I'm sure the red states would enact their own entrance examinations. Their films would probably depict huge displays of the Ten Commandments, an execution of Michael Moore, people hanging garlands on Rush Limbaugh, Hilary Clinton being stoned by school children chanting the pledge of allegiance.
Everybody could go live with their own kind. Why didn't someone think of this before?
5 comments:
John,
Eldon Whitford and I are reading your blogs and chuckling to each other.
We'll be back later. Eldon confesses that he is a pointed headed liberal who can't park his bicycle straight.
Earl F. Burkholder
Not only do we have very good friends in Amsterdam, who we plan to visit within the next year, we're also flirting with the idea of an exit plan. No doubt Cliff and I will have totally different takes on Amsterdam's various and sundry attractions . . . and I'll let you guess what he's anticipating!
What a terrific concept, that could be used on so many levels including neighborhoods. You didn't mention the liberal approach to smoking pot and drug use in the Netherlands.
Becky
Almost sounds like a commune your idea. Netherlands sound good, any other places?
Earl, don't fall for the stereotype that all liberals have pointy heads. My is perfectly round.
Debra, somehow the use of the word "flirting" with "exit plan" sounds incongruous. I have never met Cliff, but he is a man, so I wouldn't be surprised if a walking tour of the red light district would be on the agenda.
Becky, it's a good thing you're anonymous. The very idea! Pot smoking and drug use!
rdl, it does sound kind of like a commune. My problem is that if I were surrounded by nothing but liberals, I would have to become conservative in order to stay interested. What a tragedy that would be.
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