The Left and the Right have always disliked each other. Both sides think the nation will collapse without their theories being enacted. Why, though, recently, has the animosity risen to a nearly revolutionary pitch?
You Can Leave a Comment Here
Back in the Day
When I wasY
oung
 |
| Dwight D. Eisenhower |
 |
| John F. Kennedy |
 |
| Eisenhower Greeting the Troops |
 |
| Kennedy Commanding PT109 |
I had steady Dwight D. Eisenhower and then charismatic John F. Kennedy as images of what a president ought to be. Eisenhower, a hero of the Western world for his effective waging of WWII, was a conservative, but he liked Social Security and many other Franklin Delano Roosevelt policies. Kennedy, a WWII war hero himself, was a liberal but he was tough as nails on defense, cut taxes, and was business friendly. I still admire both these men, as much for style as substance. Both were fairly popular in their time, although Kennedy did face some demonization down South.
Things are Different Today
With George W. Bush, we had a good guy (screams from the left!) but ineffective communicator and fiscal irresponsible, get demonized for eight years by the left, and sometimes by the right. I liked Bush for his brave, and appropriate I believe, initiation of the Iraq War. I did not cheer Bush for the politically correct way he waged the war, until the end, with the Surge. I did not admire Bush’s fiscal irresponsibility, his bumbling communication skills, and his failure to stand up to the bullies who were sullying his name.The demonization of Bush, and of the right, was promoted by left-wing organizations like Media Matters and MoveOn.org. This was continued by Air America (Senator Al Franken’s old liberal stomping ground), and echoed by most of Hollywood, ranging from Barbra Streisand, the Sarandons (incl. Tim Robbins), and Sean Penn.
In my opinion, the right just turned the other cheek for many years. Bush was the ultimate nice guy. He never personally answered his critics, preferring to think that if he just did the right things, people would eventually come to appreciate him. He was wrong.
Now, the Right Has Learned to Demonize Back.
The answer on the right, starting in 1988, was Rush Limbaugh. Plus there were the very fair Dennis Prager, Larry Elder, and Michael Medved. And, some quite right-wing guys like Michael Savage began to lay the groundwork for more radical vitriol.In, 1996, The right-wing Fox News Channel stood up to liberalism by presenting a fair and balanced viewpoint. On Hannity and Colmes they included conservative Sean Hannity with liberal Alan Colmes, and people like liberal Shepard Smith reporting the news, plus left-wing guests all the time.
Veering Hard Right
Dropping Alan Colmes from Hannity and Colmes in 2009 and changing it to Hannity’s America, and adding Glenn Beck, Fox moved hard right. Bill O’Reilly on the O’Reilly Factor did try to be fair and balanced, but veered left and right from time to time (i.e., left on big oil, right on the “Nanny State”).Since then, the left has gone nuts, and the right. I worked with one female Media Matters fan at a defense contractor’s job. I was the Technical Writer. She was my immediate boss. She was vicious in her attacks on Bush, and then later, equally rabid in her assaults on Hillary, and … Obama. They were too “right-wing” for her!
Beckland
Fox, indeed, recently has gone beyond fair and balanced into the land of even higher ratings and Beckdom. In my opinion, Beck makes a lot of good points, but I can never cheer for the guy because he’ll always be stuck in a time warp of revolutionary paranoia. He’s right to be frightened by this president, I believe, and by the left at this time, but I imagine he’d be in a panic about George Washington as president too. (“Do you know who Washington had working in his mess hall? That’s right, a British chambermaid, who used to change King George III’s chamber pot. Bet you didn’t know that!”)The left has reacted in kind to the daily, sometimes accurate, hysteria of Glenny Babe. They, again in my opinion, have been demonizing for years, so they just notched it up a bit. Now, we’ve got two paranoids in a room who see the other as a mortal threat. Two giant Hulks have burst through their blue and red T-shirts!
Does Demonization Work?
Yes. Is it good for the country? Yes, if the person needs demonizing. On the other hand, your demon might be my saint. And, in the midst of villifying, important considerations on policy get lost, and the public becomes merely a bunch of cheerleaders for their side, and for the political demise of their enemies.Your Comments are Welcome Here
Have a great day!
Rock
(*Wikipedia is always my source unless indicated.)
Technorati Tags for this post:
Dwight D. Eisenhower, John F. Kennedy, Barrack Obama, World War II, George W. Bush, demonization, Rush Limbaugh, Dennis Prager, Larry Elder, Michael Medved, Michael Savage , Fox News Channel, Hannity and Colmes, Sean Hannity, Alan Colmes, Shepard Smith, Hannity’s America, Glenn Beck, Nanny State, Iraq War, Surge, Media Matters, MoveOn.org, Air America, Al Franken, Barbra Streisand, Susan Sarandon, Tim Robbins, Sean Penn
Regular Technorati Tags for this blog: Regular Technorati Tags for this blog: politics, political, politically incorrect, no spin, conservative, Republican, right wing, liberal, Democrat, left wing, leftist, democracy, election, peace, war, Barrack Obama, Sarah Palin, Tea Party, editorial, opinion, news, current affairs, media, television, television, Hollywood, books, culture, society, religion, God, fundamentalism, Christian, Catholic, Muslim, Jew, Israel, Palestine, blog, truth, Truth—the No Spin Politically Incorrect Zone, The Truth Zone of Combat
.gif)
9 comments:
Journalism and the news should not be a political proposition. The assumption or assertion that it is or should be, and that people should be able to live completely in twisted warped spun worlds full of hatred for half the population in the world they live in is beyond sick, it is psychopathic.
Lying on the air and calling it news should be a crime, and as the pioneer of that practice, no matter which SIDE it is on, Fox News owners should be arrested for treason for bankrupting the Fourth Estate and endangering the country's internal security.
Well, since this time you didn't attack me or my readers, I can attend to this comment seriously. You have a right to your opinion. As to hatred, however, you seem to be full of it.
FOX is a wonderful station that reports truth, as opposed to the stations you watch. Thank God for their courage to face people like you every day and make their principled stand.
Everything you said about FOX, I say about MSNBC and the rest of them, and assuredly your heroes, Maddow and Olbermann.
Hi Rock,
Thank you for your message. It's assuring to find other people who attempt to view the political divide objectively. I really appreciated the comments on Ike and JFK; I wasn't around for either--and perhaps that's why I find them larger than life--but it's encouraging to have strong icons from conservative and liberal ideologies who having gone on full tilt. As a political independent, I am always seeks the best of all worlds, at least to the extent that this is possible.
However, as much as I agree that Bush may be a generally nice guy--and I do think he was demonized unfairly, as I don't believe he was really running the show--his presiding over how we went to war with Iraq is unacceptable. Like George, I am a born-again Christian and I cannot accept the wholesale slaughter of people, a disturbing many of them being innocent victims of where they were brought into this world, fortunately or unfortunately.
I had the privilege of living outside of the United States for eight years (serving the needy from 1997-2005). And what I can assure you is that the United States definitely looks like a different country when seen through foreign eyes. Now, people may disregard this, saying that America doesn't exist for the eyes of foreigners, which is fair enough. But I'm not talking about mere foreign perception; I'm talking about being outside of the schools and media in the US, and being exposed to people who have a greater depth of understanding regarding history (e.g. core issues behind the India and Pakistan hatred; the roots the drive Arab conflict; America's meddling in other countries' sovereign affairs and how that might explain their negative feelings towards America, etc.).
At this point, I would like to pose a question for discussion. Is it realistic to entertain the possibility that our nation's radical polarization is intentional? As you say, the lines have been drawn long ago, and both Republican and Democrat disciples believe their parties are the answer, but I don't recall these issue being so ubiquitous and personally enflamed. Sure, there were always the true, passionate believers, but it feels to me that people are becoming aggressively divided politically, socially, and spiritually divided. I'm feeling the fomentation of hatred in our communities, like we're regressing into tribal factions. And if we are so radically divided, we are easily conquered.
For example, the USA just got financially fleeced by "too large to fail" organizations above the politics, who staff Washington with their cronies and take all the profits and dump all their liabilities on the public. They came out in broad daylight and robbed us blind, yet we didn't lift a finger, other than to point and blame the Bush or Obama administration, when the seeds were sewn long ago, and both parties were complicate. As long as we're wildly divided, wars can be waged costing billions of taxpayer dollars and, worse yet, millions of lives to support the industrial military complex, the very one Dwight D. Eisenhower warned America about as he left office. We need to come together as a nation, respectfully disagreeing on issues where there is no common ground, but always united in purpose to sustain our constitution, our culture--as well as those of other counties--and contribute towards improving the quality of life for all on planet Earth.
Rock, I really do appreciate your work and what you are doing. I have my own blog to address similar issues as yours, and I hope you will join me in my discussions, as well. Truth matters, and its through work such as yours that we may start to get to it.
Thank you for your objectivity and efforts to speak truth into the world. Have a great day!
Yours faithfully,
Tom
Hi Rock,
Thank you for your message. It's assuring to find other people who attempt to view the political divide objectively. I really appreciated the comments on Ike and JFK; I wasn't around for either--and perhaps that's why I find them larger than life--but it's encouraging to have strong icons from conservative and liberal ideologies who having gone on full tilt. As a political independent, I am always seeks the best of all worlds, at least to the extent that this is possible.
However, as much as I agree that Bush may be a generally nice guy--and I do think he was demonized unfairly, as I don't believe he was really running the show--his presiding over how we went to war with Iraq is unacceptable. Like George, I am a born-again Christian and I cannot accept the wholesale slaughter of people, a disturbing many of them being innocent victims of where they were brought into this world, fortunately or unfortunately.
I had the privilege of living outside of the United States for eight years (serving the needy from 1997-2005). And what I can assure you is that the United States definitely looks like a different country when seen through foreign eyes. Now, people may disregard this, saying that America doesn't exist for the eyes of foreigners, which is fair enough. But I'm not talking about mere foreign perception; I'm talking about being outside of the schools and media in the US, and being exposed to people who have a greater depth of understanding regarding history (e.g. core issues behind the India and Pakistan hatred; the roots the drive Arab conflict; America's meddling in other countries' sovereign affairs and how that might explain their negative feelings towards America, etc.).
At this point, I would like to pose a question for discussion. Is it realistic to entertain the possibility that our nation's radical polarization is intentional? As you say, the lines have been drawn long ago, and both Republican and Democrat disciples believe their parties are the answer, but I don't recall these issue being so ubiquitous and personally enflamed. Sure, there were always the true, passionate believers, but it feels to me that people are becoming aggressively divided politically, socially, and spiritually divided. I'm feeling the fomentation of hatred in our communities, like we're regressing into tribal factions. And if we are so radically divided, we are easily conquered.
For example, the USA just got financially fleeced by "too large to fail" organizations above the politics, who staff Washington with their cronies and take all the profits and dump all their liabilities on the public. They came out in broad daylight and robbed us blind, yet we didn't lift a finger, other than to point and blame the Bush or Obama administration, when the seeds were sewn long ago, and both parties were complicate. As long as we're wildly divided, wars can be waged costing billions of taxpayer dollars and, worse yet, millions of lives to support the industrial military complex, the very one Dwight D. Eisenhower warned America about as he left office. We need to come together as a nation, respectfully disagreeing on issues where there is no common ground, but always united in purpose to sustain our constitution, our culture--as well as those of other counties--and contribute towards improving the quality of life for all on planet Earth.
Rock, I really do appreciate your work and what you are doing. I have my own blog to address similar issues as yours, and I hope you will join me in my discussions, as well. Truth matters, and its through work such as yours that we may start to get to it.
Thank you for your objectivity and efforts to speak truth into the world. Have a great day!
Yours faithfully,
Tom
Hi Rock,
Thank you for your message. It's assuring to find other people who attempt to view the political divide objectively. I really appreciated the comments on Ike and JFK; I wasn't around for either--and perhaps that's why I find them larger than life--but it's encouraging to have strong icons from conservative and liberal ideologies who having gone on full tilt. As a political independent, I am always seeks the best of all worlds, at least to the extent that this is possible.
However, as much as I agree that Bush may be a generally nice guy--and I do think he was demonized unfairly, as I don't believe he was really running the show--his presiding over how we went to war with Iraq is unacceptable. Like George, I am a born-again Christian and I cannot accept the wholesale slaughter of people, a disturbing many of them being innocent victims of where they were brought into this world, fortunately or unfortunately.
I had the privilege of living outside of the United States for eight years (serving the needy from 1997-2005). And what I can assure you is that the United States definitely looks like a different country when seen through foreign eyes. Now, people may disregard this, saying that America doesn't exist for the eyes of foreigners, which is fair enough. But I'm not talking about mere foreign perception; I'm talking about being outside of the schools and media in the US, and being exposed to people who have a greater depth of understanding regarding history (e.g. core issues behind the India and Pakistan hatred; the roots the drive Arab conflict; America's meddling in other countries' sovereign affairs and how that might explain their negative feelings towards America, etc.).
At this point, I would like to pose a question for discussion. Is it realistic to entertain the possibility that our nation's radical polarization is intentional? As you say, the lines have been drawn long ago, and both Republican and Democrat disciples believe their parties are the answer, but I don't recall these issue being so ubiquitous and personally enflamed. Sure, there were always the true, passionate believers, but it feels to me that people are becoming aggressively divided politically, socially, and spiritually divided. I'm feeling the fomentation of hatred in our communities, like we're regressing into tribal factions. And if we are so radically divided, we are easily conquered.
For example, the USA just got financially fleeced by "too large to fail" organizations above the politics, who staff Washington with their cronies and take all the profits and dump all their liabilities on the public. They came out in broad daylight and robbed us blind, yet we didn't lift a finger, other than to point and blame the Bush or Obama administration, when the seeds were sewn long ago, and both parties were complicate. As long as we're wildly divided, wars can be waged costing billions of taxpayer dollars and, worse yet, millions of lives to support the industrial military complex, the very one Dwight D. Eisenhower warned America about as he left office. We need to come together as a nation, respectfully disagreeing on issues where there is no common ground, but always united in purpose to sustain our constitution, our culture--as well as those of other counties--and contribute towards improving the quality of life for all on planet Earth.
Rock, I really do appreciate your work and what you are doing. I have my own blog to address similar issues as yours, and I hope you will join me in my discussions, as well. Truth matters, and its through work such as yours that we may start to get to it.
Thank you for your objectivity and efforts to speak truth into the world. Have a great day!
Yours faithfully,
Tom
Hi Rock,
Thank you for your message. It's assuring to find other people who attempt to view the political divide objectively. I really appreciated the comments on Ike and JFK; I wasn't around for either--and perhaps that's why I find them larger than life--but it's encouraging to have strong icons from conservative and liberal ideologies who haven't gone on full tilt. As a political independent, I am always seeks the best of all worlds, at least to the extent that this is possible.
However, as much as I agree that Bush may be a generally nice guy--and I do think he was demonized unfairly, as I don't believe he was really running the show--his presiding over how we went to war with Iraq is unacceptable, especially the way Colin Powell was thrown under the bus.
At this point, I would like to pose a question for discussion. Is it realistic to entertain the possibility that our nation's radical polarization is intentional? As you say, the lines have been drawn long ago, and both Republican and Democrat disciples believe their parties are the answer, but I don't recall these issues being so ubiquitous and personally enflamed. Sure, there were always the true, passionate believers, but it feels to me that people are becoming aggressively divided politically, socially, and spiritually divided. I'm feeling the fomentation of hatred in our communities, like we're regressing into tribal factions. And if we are so radically divided, we are easily conquered.
For example, the USA just got financially fleeced by "too large to fail" organizations above the politics, who staff Washington with their cronies, take all the profits and dump their liabilities upon the public. They came out in broad daylight and robbed us blind, yet we didn't lift a finger, other than to point and blame the Bush or Obama administration. As long as we're wildly divided, wars can be waged costing billions of taxpayer dollars and, worse yet, millions of lives to support the industrial military complex, the very one Dwight D. Eisenhower warned America about as he left office. We need to come together as a nation, respectfully disagreeing on issues where there is no common ground, but always united in purpose to sustain our constitution, our culture--as well as those of other counties--and contribute towards improving the quality of life for all on planet Earth.
Rock, I really do appreciate your work and what you are doing. I have my own blog to address similar issues as yours, and I hope you will join me in my discussions, as well. Truth matters, and its through work such as yours that we may start to get to it.
Thank you for your objectivity and efforts to speak truth into the world. Have a great day!
Yours faithfully,
Tom
Hi Rock,
Thank you for your message. It's assuring to find other people who attempt to view the political divide objectively. I really appreciated the comments on Ike and JFK; I wasn't around for either--and perhaps that's why I find them larger than life--but it's encouraging to have strong icons from conservative and liberal ideologies who having gone on full tilt. As a political independent, I am always seeks the best of all worlds, at least to the extent that this is possible.
At this point, I would like to pose a question for discussion. Is it realistic to entertain the possibility that our nation's radical polarization is intentional? As you say, the lines have been drawn long ago, and both Republican and Democrat disciples believe their parties are the answer, but I'm feeling serious fomentation of hatred in our communities, like we're regressing into tribal factions. And if we are so radically divided, we are easily conquered.
For example, the USA just got financially fleeced by "too large to fail" organizations above the politics, who staff Washington with their cronies and take all the profits and dump all their liabilities on the public. They came out in broad daylight and robbed us blind, yet we didn't lift a finger, other than to point and blame the Bush or Obama administration, when the seeds were sewn long ago, and both parties were complicate. As long as we're wildly divided, wars can be waged costing billions of taxpayer dollars and, worse yet, millions of lives to support the industrial military complex, the very one Dwight D. Eisenhower warned America about as he left office.
Rock, I really do appreciate your work and what you are doing. I have my own blog to address similar issues as yours, and I hope you will join me in my discussions, as well. Truth matters, and its through work such as yours that we may start to get to it.
Thanks, again!
Tom
Hi Rock,
Thank you for your message. It's assuring to find other people who attempt to view the political divide objectively. I really appreciated the comments on Ike and JFK; I wasn't around for either--and perhaps that's why I find them larger than life--but it's encouraging to have strong icons from conservative and liberal ideologies who haven't gone on full tilt. As a political independent, I am always seeks the best of all worlds, at least to the extent that this is possible.
At this point, I would like to pose a question for discussion. Is it realistic to entertain the possibility that our nation's radical polarization is intentional? As you say, the lines have been drawn long ago, and both Republican and Democrat disciples believe their parties are the answer, but I'm feeling serious fomentation of hatred in our communities, like we're regressing into tribal factions. And if we are so radically divided, we are easily conquered.
For example, the USA just got financially fleeced by "too large to fail" organizations above the politics, who staff Washington with their cronies and take all the profits and dump all their liabilities on the public. They came out in broad daylight and robbed us blind, yet we didn't lift a finger, other than to point and blame the Bush or Obama administration, when the seeds were sewn long ago, and both parties were complicate. As long as we're wildly divided, wars can be waged costing billions of taxpayer dollars and, worse yet, millions of lives to support the industrial military complex, the very one Dwight D. Eisenhower warned America about as he left office.
Rock, I really do appreciate your work and what you are doing. I have my own blog to address similar issues as yours, and I hope you will join me in my discussions, as well. Truth matters, and its through work such as yours that we may start to get to it.
Thanks, again!
Tom
Tom, thank you for your caring attitude and your wonderful insight into matters that are important to us all. Your perspective is deeply appreciated.
I too lived abroad, for ten years, and learned about our national character through the reactions and eyes of other cultures.
I have different theories about why we're perceived so negatively, but I'd have to write a book to explain them. It'll all come out eventually in the blog anyway.
Notable, though, is that we enjoyed our highest popularity right after WWII, when we'd just acted cruelly against the Germans and the Japanese, and won a war against tyranny--rather than now, when we are trying to be such nice guys and politically correct.
Living in the Middle East, I've heard from the lips of Arabs, that they don't respect us because we are weak, not because we are cruel. Taking ten years to win a war is weak.
You think they respect Obama? Not on your life. They hold him in contempt. Iran just got away with changing history by going nuclear.
Anyway, I'm running off at the mouth. I respect your opinions, and definitely will go to your blog. And, I love your attitude. Thanks.
Post a Comment