Ok, we got our guys elected for the most part. The country breathed a collective sigh of relief and we've pulled our national overhanging toes back from edge of the abyss.
I have absolute faith that Barack Obama will help us help ourselves to bring the country back to the productive, compassionate, and respected nation we've all held it to be.
He will do it as he ran his campaign - in a non-confrontational, professional, brainstorming manner. He will surround himself with exceptional individuals and listen to their input and we know that when a hurricane hits an area in the Gulf of Mexico, that experts in disaster relief will be on the scene instead of someone well-versed in racing horses.
There is however, one area where Barack Obama cannot do what needs to be done. He believes in the Constitution and in the principle of free speech and must work within the constraints of the rule of law and political reality. It is up to the rest of us not saddled with a public image to tackle this problem.
We all knew they were out there before this election. Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity, Bill O'Reilly, Michael Savage, Ann Coulter. They were this droning reinforcement to the daily Karl Rove talking point. If you're like me you just grudgingly accepted the irritation, figuring that they'd get their short stint in the spotlight and eventually fade away from the scene when their shtick got tired and old. Their rabid followers were truly worthy of just an annoying form of white noise as long as their party stayed in power. It was a form of gloating. If they got to you too much, you just turned them off.
However, this campaign has brought out a much more diabolical and dangerous side of this bunch and the influence on their audience. Once they figured out that their side was on it's way out of power, the rhetoric went from snark and derision to hate and violence. They were no longer satisfied with simply winning. The new goal was to wipe out the other side using whatever means available. They knew their ditto-heads were more than simple idiots spreading their message. They were also armed to the teeth, violent in nature, and steeped in fundamentalist certainty. Rush and Sean didn't need to do dirty work. They could simply play Charles Manson to the vast sea of Squeaky Fromme's, planting the seeds of discontent with their "dreams" of riots in the streets of Denver and labels of "terrorist" and "socialist".
My son is a freshman in High School and he came to me disturbed the other day because a small group of kids were talking about Obama and saying things such as "I hope he gets shot" or "The country's screwed. Someone should take him out." Now I know what teenagers are like. Their bark for the most part is worse than their bite and their rhetoric frequently overreaches. Although disturbing, these kids are probably not the threat. What scares me is that I know this is originating with their parents.
I always knew my generation still harbored some real racism but that bunch had to keep it hidden. They could spout their hate in tiny groups where they knew everyone was of like mind but it was clear for the last decade or so ago watching television and listening to the radio that society wasn't comfortable with its utterance. There was no public validation. It's much like masturbation. In private it feels like a wonderful guilty pleasure but you'd never just start going at it in a restaurant or a party.
However, when the media begins reinforcing the hate and bigotry, these cretins are empowered. Their brains begin to ease the societal restrictions that controlled them and it suddenly feels acceptable to say and do things that were locked away.
Now the dilemma. Our rule of law gives these beasts the right to continue. Unless it can be proven that their hateful rhetoric specifically instructs someone to become immediately violent, it's virtually impossible to hold them accountable. It's why Rush could spout his dream of rioting in the streets of Denver and, if it had happened a week later, he'd be off Scot free. We're not going to get new laws that change media ownership anytime soon and it'd take years to redraw the landscape even if they were passed. Government is not the immediate answer to this problem. We are and unfortunately it may require us to use like tactics against these media hate mongers.
The preferable and more ethical method would be the power of protest and boycott against the media outlets and advertisers paying the salaries of these monsters. My guess though is those stations would welcome the publicity. Controversy creates higher ratings. I'm afraid the only chance might be to show the errant hosts that there can be severe personal risk in awakening the sleeping beast.
If Rush Limbaugh can publicly "dream" about riots breaking out in Denver, people can hound him whenever he's out in public, shout him down. We can show up en mass to book signings, radio station events and, when we do show up, we don't have to look peaceful and calm. We can send our craziest looking friends, the ones that, although they have a heart of gold, look as if they could eat babies for lunch. We can carry suggestive signs, not as blatant as the Nazis that showed up for McCain or Palin rallies carried, but enough to give these folks a bit of pause. "Rush, I'm dreaming of you having a coronary and the emergency room they take you to closed down for lack of funds."
My anger towards these people certainly gives me lots of thoughts about ways to make them realize what they could lose if the anger is directed back at them but most of those methods involve not so subtle or implied threats and real physical consequences. If we use those methods we risk becoming them. I'm torn though because I fear it's the only thing right now that can make them stop. These are bullies, people that would never fight on their own without their "gang" to back them up. They only back down when the people they threaten stand up to them personally and without fear.
I'm at a bit of a loss here. The fighter in me wants to get in their faces and scare the hell out of them. The pacifist in me wants to find ways to attack them financially and through societal shaming. My guess is the solution lies somewhere in the middle of those two methods. I'm anxious to hear other ideas.
Bottom line is that these purveyors of hate must be stopped before they cause someone to get hurt or killed. We have a huge community here that can begin the process. It has to start with us.