To call the past few weeks’ business of politics in this country anything but abominable would be a gross understatement. The days of exchanging policy ideas and an occasional barb with your opponent have long been replaced by gonzo lies and damaging presumptions that seek to discredit opponents. And if there is collateral damage that occurs in the wake of such comments, so be it.
Even if that collateral damage is young children and their educational institutions or parents of adopted children who have experienced the frustration of their infertility and an adoption system that is both expensive and annoyingly slow.
Who Cares About Springfield Ohio?
One city caught up in the politics of hate is Springfield, Ohio, which is suffering through its own particular Hell. In Springfield, Ohio Senator J.D. Vance (also Republican nominee for Vice President) first introduced the story of pet-eating Haitian refugees after a post on Facebook claimed that a pet cat had been found hanging from a branch at a Haitian neighbor’s home after being carved up to be eaten. Never mind the fact that the neighbor might not even exist or that the nationality of the neighbor is unknown. Why let facts get in the way of a good story? Politics is all that matters.
The story really caught fire during the Presidential Debate two weeks ago when former President Donald Trump fanned the flames of the rumor like it was gospel. It matters not that the Springfield police chief and their city manager had already dispelled the rumor. What are the unintended consequences of this rhetoric? At least 33 bomb threats have rocked the Springfield community since this vicious lie first became public. Many of the buildings that have been targeted are elementary schools, and the state has had to bring in bomb-smelling dogs and state law enforcement officers to sweep the buildings. Fortunately, to this point, all of the threats have been hoaxes.
Aurora, Colorado, is going through similar turmoil. Complaints about the condition of some rental properties have morphed into false stories about the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua’s takeover of the city. Now, Mr. Trump plans to visit both cities even though Ohio Republican Governor Mike DeWine and Springfield Republican Mayor Rob Rue have said that a visit by Mr. Trump would be an unwanted distraction.
When is Being a Loving Parent Not Good Enough?
Suppose you are caring, loving parents who always put their children first and do everything you can to help them become caring and compassionate adults. And then someone tells you, “Sorry. You’re just not a good parent.” That is what people like Senator Vance and Arkansas Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders are spewing on the campaign trail for political purposes.
When asked about Vice President Kamala Harris, Mr. Vance started this diatribe in a speech at the Intercollegiate Studies Institute conference in 2021. “She is among the Democratic Party’s “childless cat ladies” and has no physical commitment to the future of this country because she does not have biological children.”
But the bought-and-paid-for Silicon Valley capitalist was not the only one to use adoptive parents as political fodder. At a town hall meeting she moderated in Flint, Michigan, Governor Huckabee Sanders, campaigning for Mr. Trump, said, “My kids keep me humble. Unfortunately, Kamala Harris doesn’t have anything keeping her humble.”
As an aside, one of my sisters-in-law and her husband have adopted two beautiful children (now adults) from an orphanage in India. After the anguish of not being able to bear children, they went on a lengthy, expensive, and sometimes frustrating journey to create new lives for these two beautiful human beings. All of the sacrifice was worth it, of course, and if you asked either of these young adults about their parents, they would say we were fortunate enough to have the best parents anyone could ever have.
What Gives With This Brand of Politics?
So, what is the purpose of all of this hateful banter? Divide and conquer politics. Dictators and oligarchs have used this tactic for years to rise to power. Isolate a particular group and make them the scapegoat for all of society’s woes. The classic example of this is Adolf Hitler’s accusations against Germany’s Jewish population for all of the country’s woes following World War I. However, there are plenty of examples of this in the United States. Joe McCarthy’s rage against socialists, communists, and civil rights groups during the 1950s. Most recently, the backlash against Asian Americans related to the source of the Coronavirus pandemic.
The strategy: Find a common enemy, especially one that has already been vilified. Directly blame them for an economic downturn, declining social values, etc., and push for their elimination. The result: The politics of hate wins again.
Where Does This Brand of Politics End?
It ends with you. It ends with you challenging sweeping statements about certain groups in our society. Don’t accept it when a former president calls immigrants coming to our country vermin. Or when a candidate mispronounces their opponent’s name and attempts to sew doubt about their ethnic background. Or when a specific targeted group is accused of malicious deeds that are not only unfounded but, in most cases, complete lies.
Question the politicians that support this hate speech and make them accountable for this support. Confront the media that allows vitriolic language to go unquestioned. And discuss all of this with your family, friends, and neighbors so that this hate does not linger, fester, and consume. Please jump into this fight for the sake of democracy.
