Hate is not a political ethos
Truth, reason, and tradition must prevail
I didn't create this blog to be overtly political. But it has been a sad week for America, and I'm compelled to share a few thoughts. Whether you agree with me or not, I hope we can talk about it. After all, that's the only way things will change. ~JRC
Approx. 1200 words; five minutes read time
On Wednesday, January 6th, 2020, Ashli E. Babbitt of San Diego was shot and killed by police as she and dozens more forcibly entered the US Capitol in an attempted siege. Babbitt, a veteran of the United States Air Force, was a libertarian and ardent supporter of President Donald Trump. She had traveled to Washington DC to take part in the ‘Stop the Steal’ rally organized by MAGA supporters and at the encouragement of Mr. Trump. She was 35 years old when she died.
I am not a Republican nor a libertarian. And I am not a Trump supporter. But I know and love people who are. And I understand, to a degree, the sentiments that drive others like Ashli Babbitt to do what they do. From what I understand, a lot of it is fear. And this manifests as hate as zealots rally around one another, listening only to those who agree. It fuels the fire; incites rage. And nothing good comes of it. Instead, people die.
For much of my young adulthood, I was hateful too. I was introverted and a late bloomer as a child, and became the target of bullies. Battling this rejection as best I could, I grew opinionated and defiant. It wasn't until I found a niche among like-minded liberals in my early 20s that I felt somewhat okay.
But instead of easing into a more comfortable existence, I took up the torch of rage. I was an outspoken change advocate, often espousing far-left and even communist ideals.
I hated my Midwestern roots, so I condemned them. I hated my conservative Christian Ohio hometown, and I ridiculed it. I hated even the Appalachian dialect of my family and friends so I changed the way I talked. Worst of all, I let everyone know what I hated and spewed contempt for anyone who disagreed.
What all this hate earned me was more isolation. Yes, I was a part of something bigger - a loosely allied liberal movement - but I was losing two things far greater - my family and my country.
My attempt to change everything was futile from the start. Sure, it was a reaction to not belonging. But instead of mastering what I could - my response to the world around me - I worked to force the world to see things my way. And it wasn't working at all.
I'm not sure when it was, but about a decade ago, I began to see my errant ways. Feeling estranged from my family was my first sign that things were wrong. Despite all my activism, I didn't feel like any good was coming of it, politically or personally. Worst of all, many people I loved were not listening. How could they? I was condemning them for who they were. And that’s a recipe for war, not understanding.
it was time to take a look “at the man in the mirror," as Michael Jackson (and Lego Batman) professed. Since then, I've grown to understand why this must happen. And I now know that reacting to my fear, and turning it into hate, does only one thing. It breeds more hate.
Make no mistake - this is not a pass for the extremists who breached the capitol. And most certainly not for Donald Trump. Understanding does not equal condoning. It is despicable what has happened, and Trump, by most counts, is responsible for it. Those in power who let it all slide for so long also bear guilt.
Responsible too are the dozens who stormed the US House and Senate. I empathize with how they got there, pawns in our president's selfish game. But there is no justification for such action. We all must grow up at some point, and we are each responsible for our hate.
But what now? After we punish the guilty, and inaugurate a new president, what happens then? Will anything be different?
Knowing the US and the world are so deeply divided, it's hard to see how we can change course. But there is a way. And it can be relatively direct if we allow truth to prevail. John Dickerson, Senior Political Analyst for CBS News, said it well: "Lies must be called out as lies." And we must respect and honor "truth, reason, and tradition."
Lies are lies. And facts are facts. There are not ‘two sides of the coin’ for truth, only one. Discerning it can be hard at times, and opinions factor in, making truth all the more elusive. But we must recognize fact over fiction if we are to succeed.
As for tradition, Dickerson refers to the American system of government - the longest standing constitutional democracy in history. Despite our differences, it works. Not perfect by far, democracy is challenged by an impossible task - respecting majority rule while protecting minority rights. But the US system, more than any other, seeks to address this head on. It does so by limiting power at key points in decision making, thereby protecting us from our worst inclinations.
On January 6th, we saw those worst inclinations in action. A fringe minority sidestepped the system and went straight for the heart of democracy. Not only was it a disgusting failure, it was deadly. Ashli Babbitt sadly died because she and others attempted to circumvent the rule of law. They were mistaken, and Babbitt paid the ultimate price.
It’s hard not to blame those who egged her on. Years of indoctrination led Babbitt to Washington D.C. that day. But she and those around her are squarely at fault too. They should have known the "revolt" would never succeed. Despite what some leaders and far-right talking heads told them, there’s no honor in it. It was built on lies. There will be no successful insurrection here in the US because the vast majority of us know it is wrong.
A vocal few still disagree. They think that the mob - justified in their eyes as a revolution - will one day be victorious. But if so, what then? The rest of us will not roll over and agree. And those who fancy a different ideological overthrow - what’s to stop them from having their day too? So long as mob rule reigns, other mobs will keep coming, ad nauseam. History illustrates this all too well.
The only thing that stands between us and a total breakdown of society is law and order. Mob rule is not law and order. It's the desperate attempt of scared people to use hate for change.
Look, this is a terrible mess we are in, and "politics today" can easily be the scapegoat. But our system of governance works if we respect it. Respect means crossing the aisle, listening to others, and being open to compromise. And not just by politicians. Each of us must listen more. Forgive more. Open more doors and erect fewer walls.
Above all, we cannot build political parties around what we hate. It’s not an ethos; hate politics is a selfish endeavor that breeds demagogues. It's what led us to the terrible events of January 6th, 2021.
Hate gets us nowhere. Only truth, reason, and tradition will keep America strong.
We now return to our regularly scheduled programming.
Until next time. Science. Fiction. Create.
JRC
A thoughtful, well written piece. Thanks for sharing your own very personal journey.
In marketing science, there is an often used truism: “perception is reality”.
And of course there is the Joseph Goebbels’ rule: “Tell a big enough lie often enough and people will believe it.”
Both come into play here, as do social media company algorithms that feed their customers only what they think they want to see, acting as a hyper-accelerant for echo chambers of “alternative facts”.
We’re living in a world of different realities, where members in each group sincerely believe the “others” have been fooled by the big lie.
Civics, ethics, critical thinking, and the scientific method need to become integrated into public education at the earliest grade levels. “Everything I Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten” is a good start.
Knowing how our system of government works (or is supposed to), what ethics are and why they are important, how to tell fact from fiction, and that science is not a belief system or religion, but a methodology to achieve ever closer approximations of truth...will all help unite people in a common understanding of reality. Without that, progress will become ever more challenging.
What a sad day. This brought me back to my childhood too, growing up in a developing country, I witnessed an attempted coup on TV more times than I cared to understand why. I just never thought I’d be living through one on American soil.
“Lies must be called out as lies." And we must respect and honor "truth, reason, and tradition."
Thank you for the unifying words. But what do you do when even good people refuse to see truth as truth, and rather believe the lies and completely false allegations, and worse yet, act on them? Either with force or with their vote? What do we do with that? How do we listen and understand and accept? That’s what Americans are dealing with now... how do we unify like that... 💔