The DOK editors in a nutshell

Today's letter from Thomas Pierce of Norman is truly cringeworthy. No real newspaper would run such a pathetic lamentation. The Oklahoman, though, isn't a real newspaper and the sentiments expressed in Mr Pierce's letter pretty-well sum up the opinions of the editors:

Regarding “U.S. judge permanently blocks Oklahoma's vote on Sharia Law” (Associated Press, Aug. 16): America was enhanced by the great migration of people from around the world seeking freedom and liberty, fully assimilating as Americans. That was then. The recent decades-long migration to our land hasn't followed that same path, nor does it reach the same destination. The vast majority of millions crossing wide-open southern borders, and from the Middle East, legally and illegally, fail to assimilate into the uniquely American culture. They fail to learn our history, our founding, our founding documents and why we became the greatest nation and republic the world has ever known. They fail at this, yet they vote.

It's sort of sad that the prompt for this letter was the "Sharia law" issue. For those not in the know, voters in Oklahoma approved an amendment to the state's constitution that would ban the phantom menace of someone sneaking in Islamic religious laws into the courtroom. Because the law was, well, unconstitutional, it was struck down. But sadly, Mr Pierce, too brainwashed from his years of only watching Fox News, laments all of this.

Indeed-- and this is, perhaps, the most pathetic part-- the Oklahoman itself editorialized as to how silly this law was. So why run a letter that is so obviously grounded in delusion? Well, because the rest of it sums up perfectly the editors' views. A short version of the above might read:

We liked it when white people came here, but then brown people came and we didn't like it. Especially brown Muslims. And some of these brown people vote, which is something that has to stop.

Boom. There it is, more or less.

Mr. Piece continues his lament:

The erosion of America continues as the votes of Oklahoma citizens are declared invalid. The erosion of America continues by the judicial corruption of constitutional law. The erosion of America continues by the corruption of the oath of office by the head of the executive branch of the federal government. We didn't begin this war of erosion, but by the virtue of our inheritance we're assuredly charged with the responsibility to end it. Or, was our home built on a sand bar in the River of Cowards?

Ugh. The shorter version:

I'm pretty sure I heard on Fox News that this Sharia law thing was legit. Unlike our brown, Kenya-born Muslim president. We need to return the U.S. to the childishly romanticized Pre-industrial country it never was!

Note again: Mr. Pierce is lamenting that "the votes of Oklahoma citizens are declared invalid" EVEN THOUGH THEY WERE ACTUALLY INVALID. And yet he pretends to be some sort of informed American Patriot. Worse, this paper-- which understands full well that Mr. Pierce is factually wrong-- is all too happy to publish his letter!! After all, it parrots the "Obama Sucks!" meme that has shown up of late in the paper, and gets some dog whistle racism and xenophobia in there, too, for good measure.

Real newspapers would consider this letter an embarrassment and its editors might reflect on how their public readership is so poorly informed. But the Oklahoman has an agenda to push, and so it runs these utterly pathetic letters.