Raising the Bar

[TW for ableism, sexism, homophobia, Christian supremacy, classism.]

Via Juanita Jean's blog, I found the website of Dr. Stuart Spitzer, a Republican running for Texas State Representative.

Just for kicks and giggles, I read through the page, and the penultimate paragraph is one of the most... um, telling I've yet read about the wrongheadedness of Republican politics [emphasis mine]:

"I believe there are two competing ideologies in play. One would debate the role of family, the rights of the unborn, the merits of gambling, and even whether absolute truth exists. This worldview says that if we can’t all get over the bar, we need to lower the bar. I think we need to raise the bar. ... we should not lower the bar just to get everyone over it. I would rather try my whole life for a bar set too high and fail, than walk over a low bar into a pool with the sediment of all, but the virtue of none."

Republicans: "If you're too poor, too disabled, too low-class, too minority, then reaching the bar is not for you." And lets not forget the depiction of these people as virtueless dirt. That is not raising the bar, unless you happen to be standing on your head, then 'raising' to the rest of the world looks a whole lot like 'lowering'.

How about we try raising the bar of human compassion, hm?