Hate Begets Hate

The Democratic National Convention tried mightily to put a hopeful gloss of love on the electorate this summer. It didn’t stick. Let’s face it, when a political party tries to sell love, they immediately raise the question, “What are you up to, slick?” The Trump campaign, on the other hand, has been about hate from the beginning. The political camps are divided thusly (“thusly” is a word you’ll only see in editorials, academic papers and legal documents.”) The Trump people hate Hillary, LGBTQ, gay rights, gay marriage, unisex bathrooms, liberals, blacks, feminism, Hispanics, Muslims, science, educated folks, civil rights, universal health care, MSNBC and Pres. Obama. The Democrats hate Trump, the tea party, Fox News Channel, the Koch brothers, guns, extreme right-wing conservatives, homophobes, racists, misogynists and creationists. One thing we have in common. Everybody hates the media.

It’s hard to trace this ugly modern political climate to its roots. Some people have said it goes back to the Senate hearings held to put Judge Robert Bork on the Supreme Court. I trace it to the huge influx of fundamentalist Christians that overwhelmed the Republican Party during the early Reagan years. Fundamentalists can’t compromise in their beliefs––political or religious––or recognize another way. I don’t know for certain when this all started. All I know is that it hasn’t always been like this. I’ll be happy when it ends so we can do a little problem solving.