Entartete Kunst in California

Stalin notes yet another spasm of wingnuttery in the fair state of California. At issue this time is a piece of art that is part of an exhibition mounted in the offices of the State Attorney General.

True to form, the reactionaries are in an uproar over what they contend is "anti-American art", seemingly overlooking one or two crucial points. So, Stalin has decided to weigh in with some observations.

First of all, the piece in question prominently features the name of the king of the right-wingers, former Texas governor Bush, s0 the contention that this work seeks to denigrate the country - rather than Bush - can only be seen as yet another example of reactionaries willfully misrepresenting the glaringly obvious intent of the artist, as well as their own agenda. Clearly, their goal is to wrap in the flag an attack on a statement critical of Dear Leader. The fact that the people behind this attempt at censorship will not even acknowledge this intent speaks volumes about the habitual, instinctive dishonesty of the extreme right.

Another line of attack by the book-burners-in-waiting attempts to establish that this kind of art does not belong in a public forum maintained by taxpayer dollars. At first glance, that's a reasonable argument - which would explain why they do not make it. They don't make their case based on the obvious partisanship of the work, which would be legitimate, but instead contend that criticizing the path of the country under Dear Leader amounts to criticism of the country itself. The obvious conclusion is that they equate unfriendly partisanship with treason. Another obvious conclusion is this: given the choice between an honest argument and a dishonest appeal to patriotism, they will invariably choose the latter.

Meanwhile, I would guess that the wingnuts in question would support renaming 16th Street in Washington after Great Leader Ronnie Reagan. I would also assume that they would enthusiastically support Rush "Oxy Queen" Liarbog broadcasting on the Armed Forces Network, at taxpayer expense, even though Oxy Queen recently referred to Democrat Paul Hackett, a U.S. Marine, as "staff puke". So, if you're looking for what used to be called "principle" before the American body politic became infected with the ideological Ebola that is right-wing extremism, don't look to these folks.

So, who's anti-American here? The artist who's expressing his dismay at the course Dear Leader has dragged the country on, or the lynch mob that seeks to silence him?