Things have gotten a little out of hand in the discourse of American society.
I am simply trying to comprehend where we have gone as a nation. The 2000s have seen a failure of civil discourse and the town hall meetings that we've seen as of late have highlighted this. As I recall, the 1990s did not seem to host as many effigies as the 2000s. Perhaps my memory does not serve me well, but I don’t recall effigies of Ross Perot, Bill Clinton, Bob Dole, Al Gore, or Jack Kemp. It seems as though we were above that.
While there has been a large amount of criticism here about hanging effigies of Congressmen (and rightly so), this type of protest has been rather common during this decade. Frankly, I’m wondering why we are so shocked at the usage of effigies.
Certainly the following two pictures are unacceptable.
Here we have Frank Kratovil Jr. and Sarah Palin, hanging in effigy. There may be several here who had no problem with the Palin effigy, but in reality, shouldn’t we be discouraging this across the board?
Even this third picture leaves me incredulous, in regards to where we’ve come as a nation. The following is a picture of Nadya Suleman, the woman who gave birth to octuplets. Apparently this picture is a piece of art, but it seems to be unnecessary.
A seemingly appropriate goal for American society would be to not lynch effigies of any person.
As we continue on, I realize that Suleman, Kratovil, and Palin must be lucky that they do not serve as President. The more violent effigies are apparently reserved for those who hold the nation’s highest office.
When I look at these effigies of Presidents Bush and Obama, there is no mild-mannered chuckle. There is not an ounce of humor. I’m wondering if political hate transfers over to actual hate a little too often in our society. I suppose we could ask the creators of these two effigies, but frankly, I do not wish to speak with either of them.
And finally, there is no need for this either.
I think that these pictures indicate that we’ve come to the point where our discourse has gotten way out of hand.
Don't get me wrong. Freedom of speech is one of the most important values of our society, and I would NEVER dream of making effigies illegal. However, I do hope that Americans make smarter choices in the future when it comes to the usage of mannequins, paper-mâché, and other various craft supplies.
For example, one could:
Donate that mannequin to the department store.
Make a piñata for a child's birthday party out of that paper-mâché.
Use that fake blood in an upcoming community theater presentation of Dracula.
Take that rope and help a small child who has fallen into a well.
Give those severed heads to the local haunted house.
Just be creative, rather than hateful.
Overall, I beg your forgiveness for being judgmental and pedantic, but I leave you with one plea: WE CAN DO BETTER THAN THIS. Let’s hope that the 2010s consists of more intelligence and sanity for all Americans, across the entire political spectrum.