The red scare about to sweep Alabama

Alabama has always been a place of special interest for me. Though I’ve never actually stepped foot in the state, I’ve been fascinated by Alabama’s unwavering consistency when it comes to the most right-wing, reactionary politics imaginable. From Roy Moore, to Fob James, to Jeff Sessions, Alabama really knows how to pick ’em.

With this in mind, am I the only one to find it amusing that the Alabama’s new quarter will feature a socialist representing the state?

The U.S. Mint announced last week that the next state in the “50 State Quarters Program” will be Alabama. The state selected Helen Keller, born in Alabama in 1880, as a symbol of the “spirit of courage.” The quarter will also be the first to ever feature braille on a coin, which I think is great except it’s more of a symbolic gesture; the writing is too small to be useful to the vision-impaired. (A picture of the new coin is available here.)

The Mint’s website includes a nice bio of Keller, explaining her noteworthy contributions and why she was chosen to be honored on Alabama’s quarter. It mentions, for example, “Keller also graduated with honors, receiving her Bachelor of Arts degree from Radcliffe. She went on to publish numerous books, articles and essays. Helen Keller lived out her life addressing social issues for disabled persons and women.”

That’s true, but incomplete. Keller was also an avowed socialist. She did “publish numerous books, articles and essays” as the Mint said, but the detail they left out was that many of these writings were about the benefits of socialism and her praise for Russia’s Bolshevik Revolution in 1917. (Author James Lowen included some great background on this issue in his book, “Lies My Teacher Told Me.”)

So there you have it. The most conservative state in the union is honoring the most famous American socialist in history. The reports of irony’s death have been greatly exaggerated.