Can someone here please explain to me why, if a politician does something really wrong and someone else either comments on it or suggests that the person deserves to be censured for what he did they are accused of "hating" that person? When did we reach the point in this country where polticians and others in the public eye are suddenly immune to criticism?
Lately it seems the "hate" charge is tossed around with abandon. If you believe that we have laws that should be either enforced or abandoned you are a racist and you "hate" Mexicans or Latinos or immigrants. You can't just sincerely believe that breaking the law this way is wrong. Your beliefs have to be driven by hate.
If you believe the President Bush has and continues to make grievous errors that have tarnished the country's image abroad and thrown us into two wars he has no intention of winning, it's not legitimate political dissent based upon political realities, it's "hate". You're a Bush hater or a Bush basher. When did we reach the point where we believed that our poltiicans are above criticism and that it is no longer our duty as citizens to be vigilant against political abuses?
If we believe that congress has been walking the wrong path for years, why are we suddenly congress haters rather than good citizens. Or if we believe that big business is guilty of excesses and abuses are we labeled as being against business rather than being against dishonesty.
When in this country did the legitimate criticism of errors and dishonesty become some sort of seething hatred for one principle or another, or worse of the person who committed the errors and was dishonest. When Mr. Gonzales lied to congress under oath, why is pointing it out hating him?
When you make a mistake on the job and your boss tells you about it do you think your boss hates you? When you correct your children when they do something wrong, do you hate them because you don't pretend you believe they are perfect and incapable of mistakes? If a friend of yours criticizes a political stand you make or something you do, do they hate you?
When as a people did we start tossing such a loaded word around so freely and so inaccurately? Using myself as an example, I think Mr. Bush is the worst president ever. I think he's dishonest, stupid, ignorant (yes there is a difference) and power mad. I can point to things he's said/done that made me believe this. I do not, however, hate him. For me at least, hate is a very strong emotion. It takes a lot of energy and is reserved in my life for people who have richly earned it. Right now I cannot think of anyone anywhere I could honestly say I hate, though there is one guy I admit where the line is pretty close.
As odd as it might be for some people to realize, it is entirely possible to disagree with someone, to even regard that person as a criminal or worse, and not hate them. Why are we so obsessed with the idea that our political leaders are all now above reproach anyway? Since when did being elected to high public office suddenly make you beyond error and human frailty anyway?
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Comments: 16
Good article.
Since the rabid right became prominent we've been dealing with the politics of hate and divisiveness on both sides. I'm old enough to remember when people could disagree without taking it personally or without extrapolating one political position into an entire lifetime philosophy as is done today. I find it amazing that you're labeled a "lefty" or a "lib" if you are pro choice, even if every other position you own is conservative such as being for border security, a strong defense, fiscal responsibility, etc.
Are some people (generally a small proportion of the remaining 29 percenters) so insecure that they have to attach labels to everyone? Do a small number of people actually find that they cannot conceive of people whose opinions don't march in lockstep to one formula or another? Whatever happened to thinking for yourself and basing your opinions on how you feel about an issue rather than on a what a checklist tells you you have to believe? (editorial we across the board here)
The worst part is we allow it.
Carolyn G, you listen to me.
most people stopped learning
by the time they were three.
Oh they kept up their studies
of AB and C, and even that
X minus Y equals Z.
But they never did learn
from Mom or TV
that NOTHING is all
you ever get free.
When they said Gim,me it Now
and Daddy Said NO way and no how.
they thought daddy hated them
deep down inside, they thought
saying I love you NO, meant
somebody Lied.
When Three year old hates
for a minute or two
after that minute
love shines through.
When grown ups hate,
its forever and more
It's more than just
temper and slamming the door.
Hate is the monster
the angel is love
hate comes from deep under
Love comes from above.
Gary F
I am firmly convinces he was sinking into Alzheimer's toward the end of his term, but what's ironic is that I don't fault his people for keeping it silent and allowing him to retire. It's odd to say that, but I still feel that way.
The current flood of incivility is unnerving however. When people are at one another's throats nothing gets done. Both sides have made compromise a dirty word, yet it's the only way that things get done in congress any more. God forbid that the two parties cooperate on bills because it's the right thing to do.
What makes today different is the internet. We can be exposed to contrary opinion of those who in the spirit of radicals past believe their rightness is sacrosanct and above question. We can merrily bust their balloons and they huff and puff and cower behind the flag and not the rule of law it represents. It's a better time to pummel the righteous and right wing ignorant. Perhaps with this mass communication that's spinning out of governmental control Democracy will find new fire.
What I find most disturbing is the disappearance of exchanges of ideas and discussion of issues.
I do agree that the Internet provides an opportunity for the people to gain control in a way that has never before been possible. The government no longer controls what we see and hear. We can and do create our own content. I'm just not sure that in the end we will see progress out of this, though that's my most fervent hope.
you've correctly identified the situation.