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Sun. Jan 18, 2004

Disrespecting Democracy

Disrespecting Democracy – I probably should stop following a lot of links I come across. At least until November. Otherwise, it’s easy to be inundated with talk of ”enemies,” those ”stupid sheeple” on The Other Side, arguments that ”You can’t say you’re a Libra when everyone knows you’re a Virgo” (”but, but, I’m on the cusp!”), and other fractious means of rousting the faithful in order to ”win at any cost.”

I’ve seen some rather raw articles and nasty comment threads this weekend. It’s no longer enough to say, ”you know, I think Candidate B has the best ideas,” you must also add, ”and anybody’s better than that yammering idiot Candidate A, the Pied Piper of the Stupid and Gullible. I HATE him.”

It’s the Dozens, set to a political beat. After all, we’re only choosing the Leader of the Free World, why not get in some slappy fun in the process?

Oh, I’m sure that the majority only see one side of it … the one visible from their political point of view towards the left or the right. But let me tell you, when you’re in the middle, the crossfire is frankly depressing. It makes you believe that we will truly get the leader we deserve, and we deserve the worst. Or in the words of H. L. Mencken, ”Democracy is the theory that the common people know what they want, and deserve to get it good and hard.”

Very few seem to be paying attention to the idea that the tightening of the race in Iowa (and the sudden rise of John Edwards from single digits) may very well be due to the fact people are fed up with the negative campaigning (emphasized in the media), and are looking for an alternative. And guess what? You can extrapolate that concept. It carries over to your web page, or the comments you leave on the sites of others, in which you slam pansy leftists, or smear stupid neo-cons, as ”The Enemy.” Yes, in your own little way, you contribute to the tenor of the debate.

It’s beyond mere hyperbole. Yes, we do have an ”Enemy” who is ”evil” and against whom we must ”win at any cost.” That enemy is outside this country. When you elevate those you disagree with politically to the level of an enemy who is ”stupid” or ”evil” and must be beaten at any cost, in my opinion, you are disrespecting the Democratic Process. Your hyperbole about The Others being an enemy to America’s best interests implies they don’t even deserve to be a part of the Two Party System. They’re evil, they’re stupid, they’re doomed, or will doom us all. The rhetoric gets so extreme it becomes subconscious advocacy for a One Party System … because The Others, well, they’re the enemy, stupid!

And you’re also reducing it to a binary simplicity that can’t stand. It assumes that when ”your side” wins, it will be a zero sum game, i.e., your defeated ”enemy” will welcome you with flowers and forget all the nasty things you said. The reality is that no matter who wins in November, this country will likely remain pretty evenly split in political terms.

Your ”enemy” isn’t going anywhere. That’s right, they’re your fellow Americans.

Maybe you should come up with a new way to talk to them, and about them. Because the hard core ”enemy” throw-down approach merely speaks to the choir, it doesn’t win you any hearts or minds you didn’t have already. In fact, quite the opposite.

I can tell you for sure, it is currently a significant factor in my choice about who to support.