By ZamboniWe cats were watching "The American Experience" on PBS last night — the show about Dolley Madison — and throughout, we were basically marveling at our nation's general ignorance of American history. Goodness gracious, if we superior felines were learning something from a public T.V. documentary, how clueless are rank and file Americans about how our country was born?
That's just one reason that we're distressed by today's report from the Southern Poverty Law Center about right-wing extremism in the U.S. Not that we're surprised, mind you — just distressed.
The SPLC reports that right-wing groups angry at President Obama's election, at immigrants and at tough economic times has reached a fever pitch. Anti-immigrant groups have exploded by 80 percent, and so-called "patriot" groups have roared back after eight years of dormancy under George W. Bush.
We cats are grimly amused, because we know in our hearts that these right-wingers are folks who think they're embodying the values of our country's founders — when, in reality, they couldn't be farther from that truth.
The one thing that tempers our amusement, however, is the topic that occupied the attention of the Supreme Court yesterday: guns. Surely sentiments like these are dangerous in a firearm-happy nation.
We cats worry.
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