Progressive Ponderings: Governing through Fear and Hatred

Nov 1, 2010
Joe Mayer
VoxVerax

Conservatives, including the Tea Party, understand that fear and hatred are powerful forces, mobilizing forces. But they’ve directed that mobilization toward immobilizing the population - from seeking the truth, from using reason, from analyzing issues. Fear and hatred are handicaps to wise decision making. Fear and hatred distort reality. Fear and hatred control through intimidation. They often lead to a politics of vengeance.

Currently fear and hatred have positioned us, a nation of immigrants who sought religious freedom, to demonize certain groups such as Hispanics and Muslims. Fear and hatred breed distrust and violence. Fear and hatred are used against a “government of the people” to destroy any government programs that actually address the needs of “the people.” Fear and hatred turn citizens against movements such as unions which work for the common good of all employees. Fear and hatred demonize government regulation of corporations as fascism when government by corporations is the definition of fascism.

Fear needs enemies to sustain itself; it needs to instill bigoted self-destructive behavior.

Any citizen over ten years old has witnessed fear-mongers using a national catastrophe to send history’s most powerful military to seek out and kill two individuals. Prior to our attack and occupation of Afghanistan, Osama bin Laden was characterized as the devil incarnate, “wanted dead or alive.” Nearly ten years later, after attacking a country to exterminate an individual, we continue to sacrifice our young people and our treasure on the altar of fear and hatred. The same is true of Saddam Hussein, once our partner in war. Using fear and public manipulation, our fear mongers again sent the world’s greatest fighting force to eliminate an individual. He’s gone. We’re still there.

• Can an individual act rationally when fear and hatred consume? Can a nation?
• Can a democracy, designed for “the common good” survive a manufactured agenda of fear and hatred?
• Can an individual’s or a nation’s moral and ethical underpinnings survive on a diet of fear and hatred?
• Can a “government of the people” survive on the message to “fear and hate government?”

A true democracy, a thriving Republic, a free people would celebrate its own governance, not demonize it. Nor would it deplore the common good and the common values it was created to pursue.

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