Abandon the Metaphor

As a euphemism for compliant, “moderate” in its present political perversion is an achievement of the investment in ideas by American conservatism. Since there is no corresponding investment in ideas to lend continuity to the human rights movements that rose up against the excesses of corporate liberalism, it is no surprise that a lost generation has apparently emerged in academia.

The immoderate behavior of the current conservative–liberal alliance can be traced directly to this investment, which has overwhelmed all community safeguards worldwide since the Reagan years. The sole exception to this intellectual cleansing is the world indigenous movement, which, due to its location outside the conventional political spectrum metaphor, has the capacity and motivation to see things differently.

Since the perspectives of Native America and the Fourth World are the only authentic views left standing, perhaps we would do well to abandon the metaphor altogether.