There have been a number of recent diaries noting the growing panic and illogic coming from the increasingly hysterical right wing. Attacks on the President for leading the country into socialism, communism, or whatever ism terrifies them the most; the incendiary rhetoric that appeared on the campaign trail last year; the rants coming from the cable news channels - all of these are feeding the beast that lurks within America, the dark side of paranoia, racism, and outright nihilism that lurks out there from the heartland all the way to the cities. The economy is collapsing, people are terrified and angry, and they're looking for targets to take it out on.
David Neiwert and Sara Robinson at Orcinus have been tracking these dark threads within the tapestry of America for years now, and recent postings at the blog deserve wider exposure. Jedley has a good diary here, as does the Red Pen - but Orcinus adds quite a bit of depth to the story. (more)
The most recent post from Neiwert should alarm everyone who is concerned about what is happening with our military. Will ex-military 'Patriots' form a more dangerous kind of militias? Friday, March 06, 2009 Consider a military that has been forced to lower recruiting standards for years, one that has a piss-poor record of recognizing the problems combat veterans face. Consider these people returning to a country where they have no job prospects, their families are in trouble - and the right wing rhetoric designed to inflame their deepest fears gets mainstream media time. (The irony is Beck is raising fears of some new "Hitler Youth" coming from Al Gore while oblivious to the fact that his intended audience is far more likely to extend to Neo-Nazis than anyone who supports Gore.)
Worried about terrorist attacks and the people who encourage them? Orcinus has that covered.
What motivated a Florida gunman to open fire on Latino exchange students? Thursday, March 05, 2009
Ann Coulter soft-pedals white supremacists in her new book Sunday, February 15, 2009
Finally! House Judiciary Committee calls for investigation into Sheriff Joe Saturday, February 14, 2009
We can see why Bernie Goldberg's book was an inspiration to the Knoxville church gunman Friday, February 13, 2009
The Culture War is a concept the Right has employed as a wedge tool to split the country apart. It exacerbates fear, resentment, racial and religious tensions, and weakens the fabric of society for political advantage. The Right has been pouring gasoline on our political disagreements for years; now that they fear they are losing the Culture War they started, they're reaching for the matches. The Traditional Media is not only ignoring this - they're aiding and abetting it by giving a platform to people like Limbaugh, Beck, Malkin, Coulter, et. al; distorting and outright lying about what the President is trying to accomplish; and limiting the views that get media access to a particular range of 'acceptable' comments.
Things are NOT going well for America - and they could get much worse if the information coming to light here proves out. (h/t to bobswern) If that gets widely known, if the economy really craters... it's the kind of thing that could lead to actual class warfare, not just the clandestine one the wealthy have been waging so effectively for decades. (If that happens, they already have a contractor ready and willing to field troops for them.)
President Obama has been making every effort to try to unite the nation and change course - but the Republicans and their base extending all the way into the fringes show no sign of recognizing where we could be headed. Rather, they're still pursuing the delusional world views the Bush/Cheney administration exemplified. "Their ideas didn't fail, they were failed by leaders who didn't measure up to them" to paraphrase Digby. They've learned nothing and forgotten nothing.
We may be one assassination, one act of violence, one financial explosion away from chaos. Unlike the Right, our best response is not to panic, but to be prepared and committed to what we are trying to achieve: restoration of economic and legal justice, return to the rule of law, honest discourse in the public arena, accountability, and the sober realization that what we have been doing as a nation is not sustainable. We are faced with a choice between bringing about the changes we need to survive with our best values intact for a future we can live in, or the failed policies and toxic ideology that have brought us to this crux.