In an age of ideological warfare, millions have been conditioned to see political opponents not as fellow Americans, but as moral monsters deserving contempt.
Michael, one thing has been true throughout history. If you would go to war with another group, and you want/need to defeat them utterly, you must first dehumanize them. You must make "Them" monsters, inhuman beings worthy only of distruction.
Now sometimes the enemy makes it easy for you, cough Carthage, the Huns, the Boshe, the Savage Indians, the Nipps, the Nazis, and the Commies, cough" but still, if you want to come out the other side with anything resembling humanity, you have got to make your soldiers decide that "them" aren't humans like we are, and killing them is "Just Fine." The various Muslim faiths use this tool against the Jewish and "the great Satan" (Uh, that's us) quite well.
I'm not saying that going to war is not justified, sometimes it is. Sometimes you are left with no alternative. But when a group gets demonized to the point of dehumanization, you can just bet someone is planning to take it to full up war.
You beat me to it; this is pretty much what I was going to say.
The Left is really trying to drive a wedge between "Us" and "Them," and make us the "Other." Once a section of the population has been "Othered," treating them differently comes naturally ... and it rarely works out well for the "Other."
Southern White Democrats "Othered" former black slaves. The Nazis "Othered" Jews, Romani, and dissidents. The Soviets and Red China "Othered" dissidents, their farmers, and a lot of their working class. The Hutus "Othered" the Tutsis. Hamas "Others" Jews, Israelis, and Americans. (The IRGC in Iran "Others" f@#king everyone.) Throughout history, when one group sufficiently "Others" another group, bad things -- usually violent -- tend to happen to the latter when the former gains power.
And now, in America, the Left is gleefully attempting to "Other" the Right.
History may or may not exactly repeat, but it certainly does rhyme, and this one is a song we know well.
They never get, not even the tiniest bit, that Trump is a reaction, not a cause. On the other hand, they have so personalized him as the root of all evil that it will be interesting to see how they transfer that obsession when he goes out of office.
On the first point, I agree, Trump is a reaction. He's an avatar, an effigy. He represents us; anything they want to do to him, they won't hesitate to do to any of us.
On the second point, when he leaves office -- and I really wish he'd quit with the "third term" nonsense; I believe he's probably trolling, but I also believe he's egotistical enough to assume it's possible -- when the avatar is gone, their hatred won't go away; it's too riled and normalized. Instead, it will just be transferred to a new acceptable target.
Namely, all of us who supported Trump, or who exist on a political spectrum anywhere to the right of Chairman Mao.
To the latter point first - no. An amorphous blob of people isn't a true demonic totem. They may well go back to the Romney is a nazi of 2012, but I recall that as being mostly pro-forma and half-hearted. Trump truly inspires both those who love him and those who hate him. He isn't easily replaced for either side.
Without that catalyzing person (Orwell's Goldstein in 1984), the mob behavior (which is where all inhibitions are lost) can't ignite. Not to mention that hatred is actually exhausting - it sucks the life out of the person hating. Without the proper target, it becomes very difficult for even the dedicated partisan (left or right) to hate consistently.
I completely agree with you and wish others would take a deep breath…when the main stimulant of their hate (Trump in office) is gone, I believe the left’s reactivity won’t boil - yes it’ll simmer but not like what we are seeing now.
The recent beating to almost death of the 69 year old veteran Kerry Sharon who owns the Trump house in Escondido, CA is a glowing example of your post.
It’s also a tactic to silence opposition and make people too afraid to display their allegiance to a party or politician. Even if the perp didn’t do it specifically to silence the entire group of conservatives, those weaponizing his brain with hateful propaganda sure did. That’s exactly what they want. Intimidation.
This is an ideology that flies in the face of honesty and reason.
And to think that what has kept the human race alive **all this time** has been perception, comprehension and flexibility. The Woke activists have none of those attributes.
In most cases, where there ARE moral monsters, it is the ideology that makes them into monsters. Extremism is the bankruptcy of persuasion to begin with. Demonising your ideological opponents is a device to draw criticism away from your own failures to fulfill the promises of your platform. Adversarial government was not meant to be a feature of our Constitutional republic; it was meant to be a collaborative, but not a bargaining table, effort.
The comments that brought up "the other" also brought up what Jews are enduring (and to some extent Christians) as a subtext of this division-- which isn't only politically. The "cake" is divided further--beyond conservative vs Far Leftist. The "horseshoe" has now placed the Far Right in agreement with the Far Left. How sad is it that only "hate" finds common ground? Hasan Piker can now shake hands with Tucker Carlson.
Well said. I truly hope the person whose hate inspired this opinion piece actually reads it and reflects on your words. The sarcastic part of me says they won't.
Michael, Again you are on target with what the left is doing. The Left is surely dividing us and labeling the right as the clear enemy, the "OTHER." America was never perfect. Yet, we did recognize, at one time, that we were on to something special. That something was striving forward with a set of goals loosely defined by what we call Western Civilization/Judeo-Christian values. It was taught in our schools and our stories. It is not that way any longer.
On another item, you are moving to Tennessee from Utah? I wish you all the best. We made the big move seven months ago from Houston to Arizona. We now live in a smallish town, Prescott. Our daughter is only a 10 minute walk from our house. We live at 5,500 feet above sea level instead of 46 feet above sea level. Weather is fantastic so far. We traded flood risk for fire risk. All in all, it is a great move, And, yes, we are exhausted!! Praying for an uneventful move with a smooth landing in Tennessee.
Do you think it may have something to do with the changes in our preschools, schools, colleges and universities? Not to mention the changes in MSM.
Michael, one thing has been true throughout history. If you would go to war with another group, and you want/need to defeat them utterly, you must first dehumanize them. You must make "Them" monsters, inhuman beings worthy only of distruction.
Now sometimes the enemy makes it easy for you, cough Carthage, the Huns, the Boshe, the Savage Indians, the Nipps, the Nazis, and the Commies, cough" but still, if you want to come out the other side with anything resembling humanity, you have got to make your soldiers decide that "them" aren't humans like we are, and killing them is "Just Fine." The various Muslim faiths use this tool against the Jewish and "the great Satan" (Uh, that's us) quite well.
I'm not saying that going to war is not justified, sometimes it is. Sometimes you are left with no alternative. But when a group gets demonized to the point of dehumanization, you can just bet someone is planning to take it to full up war.
You beat me to it; this is pretty much what I was going to say.
The Left is really trying to drive a wedge between "Us" and "Them," and make us the "Other." Once a section of the population has been "Othered," treating them differently comes naturally ... and it rarely works out well for the "Other."
Southern White Democrats "Othered" former black slaves. The Nazis "Othered" Jews, Romani, and dissidents. The Soviets and Red China "Othered" dissidents, their farmers, and a lot of their working class. The Hutus "Othered" the Tutsis. Hamas "Others" Jews, Israelis, and Americans. (The IRGC in Iran "Others" f@#king everyone.) Throughout history, when one group sufficiently "Others" another group, bad things -- usually violent -- tend to happen to the latter when the former gains power.
And now, in America, the Left is gleefully attempting to "Other" the Right.
History may or may not exactly repeat, but it certainly does rhyme, and this one is a song we know well.
Your essays continue to challenge me, make me think deeply and give me hope that there are still sane voices in this country. Thank you.
They never get, not even the tiniest bit, that Trump is a reaction, not a cause. On the other hand, they have so personalized him as the root of all evil that it will be interesting to see how they transfer that obsession when he goes out of office.
On the first point, I agree, Trump is a reaction. He's an avatar, an effigy. He represents us; anything they want to do to him, they won't hesitate to do to any of us.
On the second point, when he leaves office -- and I really wish he'd quit with the "third term" nonsense; I believe he's probably trolling, but I also believe he's egotistical enough to assume it's possible -- when the avatar is gone, their hatred won't go away; it's too riled and normalized. Instead, it will just be transferred to a new acceptable target.
Namely, all of us who supported Trump, or who exist on a political spectrum anywhere to the right of Chairman Mao.
To the latter point first - no. An amorphous blob of people isn't a true demonic totem. They may well go back to the Romney is a nazi of 2012, but I recall that as being mostly pro-forma and half-hearted. Trump truly inspires both those who love him and those who hate him. He isn't easily replaced for either side.
Without that catalyzing person (Orwell's Goldstein in 1984), the mob behavior (which is where all inhibitions are lost) can't ignite. Not to mention that hatred is actually exhausting - it sucks the life out of the person hating. Without the proper target, it becomes very difficult for even the dedicated partisan (left or right) to hate consistently.
I completely agree with you and wish others would take a deep breath…when the main stimulant of their hate (Trump in office) is gone, I believe the left’s reactivity won’t boil - yes it’ll simmer but not like what we are seeing now.
The recent beating to almost death of the 69 year old veteran Kerry Sharon who owns the Trump house in Escondido, CA is a glowing example of your post.
It’s also a tactic to silence opposition and make people too afraid to display their allegiance to a party or politician. Even if the perp didn’t do it specifically to silence the entire group of conservatives, those weaponizing his brain with hateful propaganda sure did. That’s exactly what they want. Intimidation.
I believe he died of his wounds.
Well thought out and expressed piece. Thanks.
Ignorance and hypocrisy, sir.
This is an ideology that flies in the face of honesty and reason.
And to think that what has kept the human race alive **all this time** has been perception, comprehension and flexibility. The Woke activists have none of those attributes.
In most cases, where there ARE moral monsters, it is the ideology that makes them into monsters. Extremism is the bankruptcy of persuasion to begin with. Demonising your ideological opponents is a device to draw criticism away from your own failures to fulfill the promises of your platform. Adversarial government was not meant to be a feature of our Constitutional republic; it was meant to be a collaborative, but not a bargaining table, effort.
Your article reminded me of this one. https://sergemil.substack.com/p/cultural-masochism-how-the-left-subordinated?r=8sxuw&utm_medium=ios
That’s a great article
Politics versus virtue
The comments that brought up "the other" also brought up what Jews are enduring (and to some extent Christians) as a subtext of this division-- which isn't only politically. The "cake" is divided further--beyond conservative vs Far Leftist. The "horseshoe" has now placed the Far Right in agreement with the Far Left. How sad is it that only "hate" finds common ground? Hasan Piker can now shake hands with Tucker Carlson.
Well said. I truly hope the person whose hate inspired this opinion piece actually reads it and reflects on your words. The sarcastic part of me says they won't.
Michael, Again you are on target with what the left is doing. The Left is surely dividing us and labeling the right as the clear enemy, the "OTHER." America was never perfect. Yet, we did recognize, at one time, that we were on to something special. That something was striving forward with a set of goals loosely defined by what we call Western Civilization/Judeo-Christian values. It was taught in our schools and our stories. It is not that way any longer.
On another item, you are moving to Tennessee from Utah? I wish you all the best. We made the big move seven months ago from Houston to Arizona. We now live in a smallish town, Prescott. Our daughter is only a 10 minute walk from our house. We live at 5,500 feet above sea level instead of 46 feet above sea level. Weather is fantastic so far. We traded flood risk for fire risk. All in all, it is a great move, And, yes, we are exhausted!! Praying for an uneventful move with a smooth landing in Tennessee.