This will be my first post that is not directly tied to one news story or idea. For about a year now I have blogged about politics and society in America and what the right course of action should be, at least in my opinion. At the end of my freshman year I added political science as a second major because I wanted to be informed about how decisions are made in this country. After all, knowledge is power.
I started watching the news and reading blogs from all over the political spectrum. I give time and consideration to all views, even ones that don't align with my own. I consider myself a political moderate and hate political gamesmanship and party politics above all else. For every post I have critisizing the Republicans I have an equal amount to say about the poor choices of the Democrats.
Many forces are coming together that I fear are unseen by the vast majority of Americans. We live in a supposedly post-racial America, yet ever since the historic election of President Obama it seems like race has been the only thing on the mind's of many politicians. Race baiting on both sides is not bringing America back together, but is rather driving it apart. While name calling and mudslinging have been a part of American politics for centuries now, it seems to me that current efforts on both sides are going above and beyond what is necessary to make the point.
This isn't some high horse moral argument about the need for honesty and civility in politics even though it very well could and should be. I see no reason why grown men and women can't sit down and talk out their differences like adults instead of name calling and lying like preschool children. Rather I am concerned for the common American who turns on their computer or television or flips a page in the newspaper and blindly accepts everything that politicians and political pundits are telling them. While there are many factors like socio-econmic status, family heritage, race, age, marital status, and others that can impact a person's party identification, an important part of that identification is tied to issue voting and image. In otherwards, the information that the average American recieves goes a long way towards determining their party affiliation. More important than mere party politics, this information is shaping and reinforcing thw world views that Americans have, how they see themselves, their fellow Americans, and everyone else in the world.
Don't believe me when I say that political polarization in this country is real? Just look at news headlines for the last few months. The tea parties protesting taxatation during the 4th of July, "birthers" who question the legitimacy of the Obama presidency because they subscribe to a stupid fairy tell that he wasn't actually born in Hawaii, "deathers" like Sarah Palin who wrongfully insist that the end of life counseling in Obama's healthcare plan is actually a mass socialist plot to redistribute healthcare benefits to the young and to kill your grandparents off early, people who bring loaded assault rifles to town hall meetings where the president is supposed to be speaking, Democrats who insist that they want a bipartisan solution to healthcare and then run around talking about reconciliation or the ability of the senate to pass important legislation with less than the normal majority of votes.
When will America learn that these political games get us nowhere? Was the hatred and angst that Glenn Beck stirred up last week during his smear campaign against green czar Van Jones worth it? Was it worth it to call Barack Obama a closet racist and lose dozens of sponsors, Beck? The sad answeer is yes. In America such divisive and repulsive behavior by supposedly responsible politicans and pundits is rewarded with results. Van Jones resigned from his post following the effective smear campaign and while Beck's advertiser list is a little thin his number of viewers and ratings are now at an all time high!
I said earlier that I follow blogs and news stories online. I do this not so much for the information itself but to see people's reaction to what is being talked about. Obviously going to a liberal site like huffingtonpost will give me right wing bashers and vice-versa. So sometimes I visit moderate news sites where the comments are anything but. For instance, check out the comments your fellow Americans left in reaction to this story about Glenn Beck, http://washingtonindependent.com/57912/glenn-becks-next-target-cass-sunstein.
If you scroll all the way down to the bottom you can find lovely little jewels of bi-partisanship and togetherness like this:
"Glenn Beck is a race-baiting, dry-drunk opportunist who will never pass up the chance to enrich himself while serving his corporate masters. He is a demagogue of the basest and most cynical stripe"
"Sweetie, America IS a sad little place. The Republicans made it that way a few years ago. I stopped watching your news a few months ago. Every person on your networks and cable seems to be a rabid republican with no sense of humour. Your country has been turned into a 'red neck' backwoods. The world has become bored with you people. You cannot even stand up for your own President. Americans are disgusting."
"IT'S AMERICA you dumb bastard......if you don't like it leave. Spell it correctly you commie piece of crap!!!! I guess turn-a-bout is fair play right. Obama had a hidden agenda and it is slowly being exposed. Bush attacks were unfounded.
Yours truly in Afghanistan"
"Don't call me a commie. I have that right only to determine what political group I belong with. I don't criticize you for being a right wing neo con christofascist. What is the minimum security clearance?"
But wait, here is my absolute favorite one of the whole bunch.
"Left wing women need to use there mouth and thoughts for sexual pleasure only, due to the fact they are a bunch of idiots when it comes to real issues, left wing whatever? that call themselves men who in fact are cowards! need to stay home and bake cookies and clean house, let the real men due your women so that they can find out what real pleasure is all about, doing it with a real man, this would keep them out of plolitics, and in the bedroom... OK so bring it on after all I just threw a banana in the monkey pit so come on lets hear it??? after all it will be nothing more then a knee jerk reaction from cowards and pleasure dolls hearing the truth! God Bless Glenn Beck! keep up the good work in exposing the rats nest!!!!! keep the left on nut drive"
So to recap, no facts, no logic, all name calling and offensive, bigoted comments from people who fancy themselves arm chair politicians. Apparently all liberals are godless wimps and socialist commie nutjobs and all republicans are racist, redneck, uneducated drooling morons who cling to guns and God. Is this what America is becoming? These people have the right to vote in this country. They have the right to publish such hateful and vile statements that serve no purpose except to inflame tensions between the two sides. I see no truth here because there are NO FACTS! Not one person brought up facts or a reasoned argument. Where is the logic? It is all emotion that is misplaced into attempts at villifying the supposed enemy. Oh and my absolute favorite, "Left wing women need to use there mouth and thoughts for sexual pleasure only, due to the fact they are a bunch of idiots when it comes to real issues." Are you kidding me?! Who died and put women's rights back two hundred years? This poster has the nerve to say something as blatantly sexist and offensive as offensive gets and then two sentences later is invoking the name of God to support his side of the debate. Hypocrisy at is absolute worst. I'm pretty sure that God wouldn't want you debasing his children like that. Oh and the last time I checked a man's political leanings have nothing at all to do with their ability or lack of ability to please a woman in bed as that same ignorant comment so asserted (also making me lament over this misguided fool's concept of real manhood but I digress).
This is where we stand America. These are the people that goble up partisan politics like there is no tomorrow. These are the people that continue to make it possible for the Glenn Beck's and Rush Limbaugh's of the world to make a living spewing their messages of hate and intolerance across the airwaves. It is one thing to reason and to defend your position with facts and numbers and statistics. It is another thing entirely to make baseless claims that fan the already rising flames of fear and intolerance in this great nation. No matter what side you support, if you see or hear mudslinging, race-baiting or any other attempt to divide our country for ones own personal or political gain then put a stop to it. The only way to confront lies is with the truth.
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