I was recently ambushed by a former Facebook friend who persisted in positing lies about the president. His reaction moved me to write the following piece, which appeared in the Oct. 13 Charlotte Sun. All politics are local said former House Speaker Tip O’Neill, in a kindler, gentler era, before talk radio, congressional brinksmanship, and districts so safe one can hunker down and build a wall of intolerance. Here at home, as I marvel at the lack of patriotism that has led House Republicans to shut down government, I need look no further than the boundaries of my own congressional district to understand how such an event could have taken place. Charlotte County is a microcosm of what’s wrong on the national stage. Here, the Republican ascendancy in the statehouse has led to districts like ours, which winds sinuously across south and central Florida, taking in large swathes of Republican voters while deftly diluting Democratic strength. The result? A rock-ribbed enclave of the GOP. That would be fine if the inheritors of the Republican tradition conducted themselves like a Charles Percy, Jacob Javits, or even a Rockefeller. They were all open-minded men who understood that politics in a representative republic is steeped in compromise. But, instead, Republicans both on high and locally seem to have embraced a scorched-earth form of politics. Part of the problem is that the greatest ferment in the GOP comes from what’s known as the Tea Party, strong anti-taxers who are willing to risk national default for the sake of principle. Personally, I think it’s interesting that most of the fiscal problems the TP’ers loath were created during the administrations of Ronald Reagan and the Bush dynasty, yet were not worth the stridency evident now in the TP ranks. It’s as if, with the election of a black President, all bets are off. From Congressman Joe Wilson yelling out during the President’s first State of the Union speech—something that broke the bounds of centuries of American political decorum—to the nasty letters that fill the pages of this newspaper, it seems as if politics are no longer a means to an end. Instead, now politics are an end, a bunker from which Republicans in safe districts can hurl invective and scorn at those who still believe in civil dialogue and reasoned debate. Now, honest discussion is replaced with shouting, lying and sticking up the government. Worse, to differ with local adherents of the GOP, even if only to correct a lie, is to court threats and disdain. That’s as true in Washington as it is here in Charlotte County. Here’s a case in point. A gentleman in this area whom I respected as an intellectual recently posted a lie that had been circulating on the Internet. A pernicious group called National Report recently posted an item stating that our president had funded, out of his own pocket, some sort of Muslin center for world peace. A Fox network news commentator named Anna Kooiman repeated the lie on her national program, then quickly tweeted an apology once she discovered she had been fooled. Maybe the local gentleman to whom I am referring didn’t see the apology. However, when I pointed out that he was wrong and he, too, should apologize, this was his reaction: James why dont you just take me off your damn friend list already it would be much easier being you and I dont see eye to eye on anything, that way you wont see my posts and screw you and the apology that you desire. His reaction surprised me. Was being told he was wrong worth such a response? I wrote back and told him that I would keep him on my friend list so that I could correct other posts that may be inaccurate. His reply? James, No Problem I will just Disconnect from you. Oh and Jame be carefull whom you call a Lie Your OPIONIONS can be just as Opinionated as anyone else. The News is no longer News its; all manufactured Opinions. The real Hard Core News died many years ago. And remember we live in the same town I have no problem confronting you face to face or anyone else. Its Not my in my disposition to take any ones S.... I guess I lost a Face book friend. That would be a tempest in a teapot if it did not mirror the political dead-end we all seem to have reached, both in Washington and here at home.
Posted on: Sat, 19 Oct 2013 10:39:56 +0000
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