CNN.com posted an article over a year ago that, if you haven't read yet, I highly recommend. Yes, the Corporate News Network actually posted something that might be worth the time to read. They mention four key warning signs of when a religious person might become violent. I believe that the same can be said of political extremists.
Follow me below the fold for the list.
1. I know the truth, and you don’t.
Check. Right-wing extremists believe that they own a monopoly on the truth and that anyone who doesn't wholeheartedly accept their extreme views is a Bad Person.
2. Beware the charismatic leader.
Check, maybe. The rate of turnover seems to be higher, but they are still very much present. Rush Limbaugh, Sarah Palin, Alex Jones, etc. have gathered a following of people who not only seemed to have sworn fealty to them; these people perceive any kind of criticism of their leader as an attack and treat it as such.
3. The end is near.
Double-check. How many times have we heard from them that Obama is going to do X, and that is going to cause the downfall of society, so we must stock up on guns, gold, and food?
4. The end justifies the means.
"Second-Amendment solutions"? Making a government be afraid of its own people? Check. "Returning" to a government "that the Founding Fathers intended"? Check.
What are the benevolent solutions to this? We will explore some in a later diary. But an honest answer to that question demands an admission that that answer is not a simple one. If this were just a matter of straightforward debate, we would have solved the problem a long time ago. Unfortunately, that is not where we are. But any attempt to call out political extremists' hatred and lies requires making these sobering realizations.