There Will Always Be a "Herrenvolk" Party

As I read about the conflict within our Republican Party, between its "Establishment" and "Social Conservative" factions, I am reminded of an earlier political party in the U.S., the Whig Party.  The "Whig Party" is said to have supported modernization and economic protectionism.  It was basically a "Herrenvolk" party of the Northern and Southern elites.  But the Whig Party ultimately imploded over a social issue: slavery.  It was a question of social and political status: were slaves from Africa humans with equal rights?  Whigs in the Northern and Southern regions were divided on the answer, and eventually they separated into other political parties. 

One of the political parties that arose from the ashes of the Whig Party was the Republican Party.  They didn't support slavery.  They appeared to confer human status, even equal status, to the African slaves.  One of the new Republicans, Abraham Lincoln, just wanted initially to restrict slavery to the states where it already existed.  He saw this as a compromise position.  But Southern states feared that his policies would end their "status quo."  Such policies would certainly mean that any new States created on this large continent could not be counted upon as allies of the Southern states.  So, after Lincoln's election to the Presidency, they sued for independence.  That led to the U.S. Civil War.

At this point in our history, it appears to me that our Republican Party is faced with a similar fracture, this time over Hispanic immigration and homosexuals.  America's "Herrenvolk" party is faced again with a question of whether equal status should be granted, this time to Hispanic immigrants and homosexuals.  It is a question of whether homosexuals and Hispanic immigrants shall be given equal status to the Herrenvolk, and again there is a division.  Based on our history, I do believe there will be a number who cannot accept Hispanics and homosexuals as equals.  They will form a minority party.  The remainder, though diminished in number, will be the genesis of our new Herrenvolk party.

Machiavelli observed long ago that in every republic there are two conflicting factions, that of the people and that of the nobles.  Our Republicans perceive themselves as "the party of the noble," but I perceive them as the party of the Herrenvolk, who perceive themselves as noble.  Following the above analysis, I believe their influence will be diminished for a while.  But they will return, to represent those who regard themselves as the new nobles of our society.  Most likely this will be based upon their wealth.  Sexual orientation and national origin will no longer matter.


 

Political Orientation

Over the last several years, research concerning our brains and political orientation has consistently shown differences in the brains of liberals and conservatives.  This can be due, in part, to life experiences.  The brain is not a static organ, and research shows it can be rewired.  This can occur by accident, by surgery, or by practices like meditation.  But it is also a fact that we each start with mental wiring that was not a matter of our choice.

For example, some people are born with a preference to use their left hand instead of their right hand.  They did not wake up one day and decide that writing with the left hand was better.  It was simply their natural inclination to favor their left hand when manipulating objects.  My mother tells me that, in her generation, use of the left hand was punished, and she had to learn to use her right hand instead.  But the births of "lefties" continued, and it is no longer a matter that people feel a need to correct.

We are now seeing the same thing with "sexual orientation."  People don't wake up one day deciding that they would like partners of the same sex.  It is simply their inborn inclination.  They can hide it and act like heterosexuals, but it is increasingly a matter that people do not feel they need to hide or "correct."

I believe we must acknowledge that the same thing is true with "political orientation."  To a greater degree than previously imagined, our political orientation -- liberal or conservative -- is probably something we are born with.  It's not a matter of choice, per se.  It can be hidden or "corrected" when the political climate requires, but it is not eliminated.

Nor is it something simply guaranteed by procreation.  My own parents are very conservative, while I am very liberal.  They are firmly Christian, and I am not. 

And yet my father told me recently that he loved me.  I told him I loved him, too.  I know that we both meant it.  Both of us have learned that the differences in our natures does not require us to diminish our regard for one another, even though we oppose each other on political and religious grounds.  There are exceptions to every rule, but I think this is the general case.