Hate should not be common practice

Every so often I do things that remind me of why I believe in certain things. These little explorations into my soul usually happen when I least expect them. My latest soul searching came after I accidentally stumbled upon the anti-liberal Web site LiberalWatch.org.\nIt was a disturbing experience. After clicking past the splash page, I was taken to a list of the top 10 liberal degenerate Web sites. My gut reaction was to laugh out loud: the list consists of the North American Man Boy Love Association, Hatewatch, Inc., Anti-Racist Action, CruisingForSex.com, the National Organization for Women, Planned Parenthood, the Anti-Defamation League, National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, Southern Poverty Law Center and (last, but not least) MTV.\nFive of these organizations are centered around civil rights issues: NOW, Planned Parenthood, ADL, NAACP and the Southern Poverty Law Center.\nWhich leaves five to be digested. The first of these is NAMBLA, an organization with which I do not really agree. I couldn't read up on the latest NAMBLA happenings because its Web site was down, but in general, I oppose lowering the age of consent much below where it rests in Indiana. \nHatewatch Inc. and Anti-Racist Action Web sites gave me no clue about their happenings. Hatewatch's site wasn't responding, and the Anti-Racist Action site was last updated in 1999. I haven't heard of either organization and so reserve judgment. \nThe next listed Web site is Cruising for Sex, a site where gay men who like anonymous sex can get tips on the best places to cruise. Consider it the Internet version of picking somebody up at a bar.\nIt's an interesting list: The LiberalWatch site combines five serious organizations that are doing their best to improve the quality of life for all Americans and four organizations that are not active on the liberal civil rights front. This makes all the organizations look bad. \nMTV is included, according to the site, because it "works its will 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year, promoting its liberal filth into the minds of young kids all over the western world."\nI was disturbed on two fronts: one, that conservative groups seem to think NAMBLA represents mainstream liberal thought. That would be akin to me thinking that the Westboro Baptist Church (most famous for its antigay protests) accurately represents mainstream conservative thought. Neither organization represents mainstream thought, so for serious people to believe these are the key representations does nothing to enhance dialogue.\nThe other issue I found disturbing was the sudden and overwhelming presence of racist and homophobic attitudes. In the LiberalWatch diatribe against the Southern Poverty Law Center, the site notes that the organization smears anyone who "opposes racial preferences, dislikes homosexuality" and that the ex-wife of the organization's founder "cited in divorce documents at least one homosexual encounter, and numerous mistresses."\nThe diatribe against NOW is also disturbing in its anti-civil rights stance and homophobic nature, claiming that NOW's mission is "to secure a woman's 'right to choose' whether her children should be aborted at any stage of pregnancy and to promote lesbianism."\nI also visited one of the Web sites Liberal Watch recommended for news: the New Nation. The top stories were about crimes committed by Hispanic males. Another story is about "Mexican Migrant Invaders," and another about "Berkeley black pack hate crime attacks on white youths." The blatant use of racial descriptors is an obvious attempt to inflame hate based on race, as opposed to trying to figure out what caused the crime.\nWhich brings me full circle to reminding me why I am a liberal: I believe all people are created equal and should have equality of opportunity. I believe racism and homophobia stand in the way of a better, more tolerant society. I believe America benefits from the diversity its citizens represent.\nThe value of having a conversation involving people of all backgrounds brought together is a synergist release. The sum of the knowledge generated by having these interactions is what has propelled the U.S. to being the lead innovator in the world.\nMost of the time, I chose not to believe that the conservative viewpoint does not embrace racial diversity. Whenever I encounter people who proclaim their conservativeness out of one side of their mouth, and then say something inherently racist, homophobic or otherwise bigoted, I have to stop and remind myself that they are -- I hope -- in the minority.