I grew up a Reagan Republican.
I suppose it was obvious, really. I was destined to follow the beliefs of conservatism after my beliefs were formed by a former actor and decades-long politician. Reagan appealed to me for many reasons, but it all started with his original campaign slogan- "It's morning in America."
Think about that. Seriously, think about what that implies. It's a fresh start- a brand new day, when anything is possible.
Reagan understood that, and make no mistake- the slogan was chosen for a simple reason. After years of "a deep sense of malaise," Reagan was promising something that so many people wanted.
Hope.
A simple word, that means so much. He promised us hope, after the gas crisis and the terrorist threats and the economic downturn and the massive amount of disillusion with where people were as opposed to a decade before...
Sound familiar? It should, because Barack Obama used the Reagan Playbook to get elected 2 years ago.
...
Over the last couple of years, I began to wonder if my political leanings were changing. I seemed to differ more and more with the national party line of the GOP. The party of 20 years ago- hell, 10 years ago- didn't seem to be in alignment with where I was now. I did some thinking, and realized where the problem was and where it began.
Much like many of our problems, it began on September 11, 2001. I'm not going to rehash 9/11, but I will note it for one additional items that came from that day. It became acceptable to use fear as a political tool once again in the United States. Rather than continuing to say that we would not shrink down from the challenge and saying America would be phoenixlike in our rise above the challenges of our day, Republicans began to adjust the message months after 9/11 to one of "you need us, to protect you from them."
At first, "them" was pretty clear-cut. I mean, the evidence of what was against us still smoldered in a gaping hole in Manhattan. Over time though, "them" began to shift from just terrorists to anything that didn't quite fall in line with the party line. Soon, the opportunists came about that could capitalize on this type of message. They grew in power, and began to lead campaigns. More importantly, they won.
The politics of "them" was also highly profitable. Make no mistake, no one has lost money playing on the fears of the American people. Ask Fox News- they're the biggest purveyors of "us vs. them" out there because it is incredibly powerful and profitable. And before you ask, MSNBC is the second-biggest purveyor of that same message but comes in from the other side.
The politics of "them" was profitable for more than just News Corp and GE, though. Talk Radio is a festering ground for this, no matter which side you fall on. Air America was founded specifically to attack the "them" of Conservatie talk radio, but before then talk radio began to focus on "them" as a means to a wealthy end.
We went from intellectual discourse on the events of the day to an "us versus them, and damn you for siding with them" screaming match that has pervaded all levels of politics. No one has done more to encourage this in the last two years, however, than Glenn Beck.
Before Beck moved to Fox News, people were watching in droves- as I said before, the politics of fear can be pretty damned profitable and Fox kept on beating the house betting on that. Beck had been popular on CNN, but didn't quite have the marketing machine behind him because CNN maintained the appearance of neutrality in news. (And before you start to say CNN is liberal, bear this in mind- the actual presentation of the news on CNN is neutral in tone. It's not quite BBC News level neutral, but it rarely editorializes in its presentation of the true news stories. Fox News and MSNBC could stand to learn a thing or two from them.)
Beck's move to Fox news was a marriage made in monetary heaven. The face of the network had been Bill O'Reilly, but he didn't quite reach that frothy level of vitriol that got the message of fear out successfully enough. Beck also managed to get Fox working with him right at the same time that our country collectively had a whole lot to be afraid of in the world. The economy was beginning to implode, we were still involved in an unpopular war, prices for things began to get higher and higher and regular folks started to worry very seriously about their futures.
When this happens (much like it did in the 50s and the 70s), there are two responses that are inadvisable to follow. One was my initial reaction- disinterest. I didn't care anymore, since I was burned out on all of the bad news happening. The other bad reaction is to take advantage of the situation and motivate through fear. McCarthy did it in the 50s, and Beck was primed to do it again.
If you don't believe me, look at the Tea Party movement. I have no doubt that the majority of the people in the Tea Party movement are good, honest people that are afraid that their livelihoods are being threatened by things that are completely out of control. I get that, completely. However, I also have no doubt that the people who are perpetuating these fears are doing so because by doing so they make an ungodly amount of money.
I'm looking right at you, News Corp. and Glenn Beck.
...
I witnessed the fight over health care reform recently, and an interesting factoid was thrown around during the debates. When people were asked about the specific parts of the bill, the majority tended to be favorable to them- however, when asked about the overall bill it was incredibly unpopular. That indicates two things. First, the majority of the American People were not knowledgeable about the overall health care bill. Second, those that wanted to keep the hype going against it for their own political gain were relying precisely on their audiences not looking up the overall bill and its benefits and downsides.
Do I support the health care bill? Parts of it, absolutely. I think that parts of it are absolutely good and should be law. There are other portions I'm not thrilled about, but that is my own decision.
However, I have made that decision on my own. I have not allowed the fear of the unknown dictate my decisions for me, nor am I willing to allow those who seek to benefit from my fear do so. That's why I dislike Beck and do not consider myself a Tea Partier.
As I stated before, I am a Reagan Republican. Part of that is the ingrained hope that despite the challenges we face as a nation, we will endure and thrive even if it takes some time and effort. I refuse to believe that our nation is doomed, even if the situation is dire. I believe in hope.
I also believe that as an American, it is my responsibility to have hope that the leader of my nation is successful even if I did not vote for him. I want Obama's presidency to be successful for America, despite the fact that I did not vote for him. This is why Rush Limbaugh lost me forever as a listener when he declared that he hoped Obama failed. This is why Sarah Palin became an eternal joke to me when she asked "How's that hopey changey thing working out for you?"
As an American, how dare you want us to fail!
How dare you actively promote the failure of the direction of this country, no matter which side of the aisle you fall on!
Most importantly, how dare you lose the hope that our nation will get through this for your own political and personal gain!
I had a serious difficult decision during the last presidential election, because as much as I disagreed with the political leanings of Barack Obama his message of hope appealed to me- and still does. As much as I disagree with him, with the politics of the Democratic party and hope that my party finds its way again I still want our country to succeed with him at the helm. I want it, and believe it will happen.
After all, I have hope.
Out.
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