America Is Drowning in Political Hatred

No matter the outcome of the contentious impeachment trial, America is destined to descend deeper into seething hatred that poses the biggest threat to our nation.  Our country has a long history of political strife, but it has witnessed nothing like today's ugliness, except for the Civil War.

Once upon a time Americans could disagree politically without rancor and name-calling.  Those days are gone replaced by hate-mongers, hate speech and hate groups.  We make villains of those who disagree with our views and embrace personal destruction as a weapon to vanquish our opponents.

Democrats loathe Republicans.  Republicans resent Democrats.  Bipartisanship has no place in today's toxic environment.  It encourages Americans to self-select into political tribes, each poised to wipe out the other camp from the face of the Earth.  Tragically, this has become the new normal.

Political disagreements have turned into grudge matches instead of battles of ideas.  Malice seduces us to rationalize demonizing others. Who's wrong?  Evil people who don't believe like I do.  Who's bad?  Morons who hold kooky views.  Who stands in the way of unity?  Idiots from the other party.

This is worse than polarization.  If you are searching for a  comparable climate, look no further than the bloody Civil War.  Politics as usual was replaced by hatred of groups and individuals.  Northerners detested Southerners. The South despised the North.  Brother turned against brother.

Some of you may consider this analogy hyperbole.  However, no one can argue there are similarities. Americans today ostracize friends who disagree politically.  Families are torn asunder by political disputes.  It is no longer North versus South but Coastal versus Middle America.

Pundits attempt to pin this bitter division on one man: Donald J. Trump.  But research shows political rage has been festering since at least George W. Bush. He was tagged the illegitimate president. A fictional movie was made about his assassination.  The media savaged his daughters.

The bitterness continued after Barrack Obama's election.  He too was called an illegitimate president because he was not a U.S. citizen.  Rumors spread virally that he was secretly a Muslim.  He was accused of being anti-American. However, the media discredited every malicious attack. 

In the past, the office of the president was a hallowed institution respected by Americans, including those who did not vote for the occupant. This tradition has disappeared.  The president is no longer the leader of all Americans but just those who voted for the officeholder.

Now sports teams routinely shun the long established custom of a White House reception out of spite. A comedian held up a severed bloody head of the Oval Office occupant. More than 60  Democrats boycotted President Trump's first State of the Union address. 

These acts are not mere smears targeting Mr. Trump.  Each demeans the office of the president.  This petulant conduct is unbecoming of our heritage.  It is vital to America's position in the world that we the people uphold the dignity of the office while disagreeing with the president. 

Former Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott admits he is shocked by the denigration of the office of the president. He recounted  in a recent newspaper article about a 2014 speech President Obama made in his country that was viewed by Australians as a slap at the government's climate policy.

His party pressured him to publicly rebuke Obama.  He demurred because he felt it was a "discourtesy" to the "leader of the free world."  He went on to elaborate: "In a sense he's everyone's president and the world needs him to succeed almost as much as America does."

Do we need an Australian to remind Americans about civility?  That is a sad commentary on how far we have plunged into the cauldron of hatred.  Whether we like it or not, the president represents all Americans, including those who are dead set on removing him from office.

I get it.  Some of you find Mr. Trump offensive, crude and repulsive.  But hatred?  I have often had profound policy or personal differences with presidents.  But I can honestly attest I have never hated a president.  That is beneath us as Americans.  It is the stuff of a third world country.

So how did we arrive at this juncture in our history?  What is the source of this wellspring of loathing?

Both political parties are responsible for weaponizing the politics of personal destruction.  Normal Americans don't want to literally destroy those of opposing political views.  But Democrat and Republican forces consider it their mission to not just win but to vaporize the other side.

Negative ads featuring the worst dehumanizing attacks are a staple of our campaigns.  Often the claims are false.  These messages are designed to motivate us by creating a depraved view of the targeted politician.  We are encouraged to hate the object of their derision.

Parties are not interested in waging a war of ideas.  Their goal is to bully and intimidate the opposition into surrendering to their world view.  Those with differing viewpoints are mocked, insulted and branded imbeciles.  Some elected officials even want to censor opposing ideas.

Fanning the burning embers of hatred is a dishonest news media.  They knowingly promote discord, stereotypes and controversy.  In their world, the media bigwigs believe this is what gains viewers, sells newspapers or generates clicks.  Add to this cacophony the swill on social media.

Public discourse on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and other platforms is degrading.  Vile insults  people would never utter face-to-face to a person clog the sewage pipes of social media.  Politics is the grist for most of the anger and antagonism.  Any decent American should be sickened.

My Democrat friends honestly believe once Mr. Trump leaves office there will be blissful harmony.  It won't happen.  Our country now resembles a sectarian state where hatred of groups is systemic.  It will worsen because politicians and their puppet masters have a vested interest in tumult.

Rage is a useful political tool for justifying unconstitutional tactics, selective justice and any number of other misdeeds.  Unless the tide reverses, America will suffocate in its own hatred.  Americans must refuse to allow politicians or their parties to drag us into the drowning pool.

Disagreements have been a staple of the American democracy.  We must return to respecting views we cannot abide.  Contentious issues should not divide us but unite Americans in finding common ground.  That is our American heritage.  We are the United States. We need to start acting like it.