The Politics of Fear

I have long known that the politics of the right were based on fear. Fear of terrorists, fear of Arabs, but most importantly, fear of liberals who will destroy American culture. As Anne Coulture once said, "Even Islamic terrorists don't hate America like liberals do."

What I have just recently learned is that the politics of the left is also driven by fear. Now, I think our fears are perfectly reasonable, but there's no denying that I'm afraid. In 2001 I was fully expecting round-ups of Arab-Americans. Why not? We were throwing people in jail without charges and without access to any due process. Some CIA guy says "looks like a terrorist to me" and the person is in jail, indefinitely, no recourse, no right to a hearing. I am horrified that politicians that advocate torturing prisoners don't get voted out of office. I am horrified that the Republican party succeeded in virtually paralyzing the federal government for two years, and then was rewarded for it??!! I have looked on my state covered with signs to "Take Back Vermont," and knew that it was me they were mad at and wanted to get rid of. I am horrified at the extent of the lies and distortions told daily at Fox News, at hearing my high school students believe that "taxes are higher now than they ever have been" or that Obama--who has expanded gun rights--"wants to take away your gun." I am astounded at the way no one laughs when conservatives accuse the corporate media of "liberal bias," or call the milque-toast moderates in the Democratic Party "socialists" or even "left of Karl Marx."

I am afraid at the way political discussion has been largely replaced with name-calling and demagoguery, at the way many discussions with conservatives seem to contain the same style of "argument" (i.e., deride the opponents position, assign other liberal beliefs, discount other opinions as simply tools used by some entity known as The Left, accuse the other of all the distortions the arguer is using to turn it into a "I am not but you are.") It looks like there is a unified model, some sort of entity in control of conservative thought. I know there are intelligent and sincere conservatives out there. I voted Republican once (okay, yeah, it was Jim Jeffords). But I'm afraid because these reasonable people (with the exception of Jumping Jim!) don't protest at the extremism, hostility, and deception of their brethren.

Twenty-five years ago I sang along with Denis Pearne when he called Republicans and Democrats clones. Now I fervently wait and hope for a Democratic victory, and even ignore the Progressive candidate in my district. Why? Because I'm afraid. I am disappointed and frustrated at the actions of Democrats. It's been a long time since anything really good came out of Washington. But I vote for Democrats because I'm terrified of Republicans. (As Douglas Adams once said, if I "don't vote for a lizard, the wrong lizard might get in.")

With the Left and Right afraid of each other, how can there ever be real dialog? When the left is driven by fear of the right to elect Democrats we don't like, how can we ever get to something really helpful? And if those thoughts aren't frightening enough, there's the thought that with enough fear, people turn to desperation, and desperate people can sometimes try to save themselves with terrible things.

I don't know the answers to these questions. Somehow, we need to transcend our fear. If we don't, some of the things we fear most may well come to pass.