As we all know, this weekend marked a grim, sobering milestone in this country’s history. The attacks of Sept. 11 were horrifying, and though at the time many students here could not fully comprehend the tragedy as it happened because they were too young, we have been immersed in the post-9/11 political climate for as long as we can remember. This political era brought about by the tragedy has been of great hindrance to our political dialogue and has brought out some of the worst qualities of American politics.
In the immediate aftermath of 9/11, the nation united in the name of our common patriotic principles. President George W. Bush saw his approval rating hit 90 percent, the world stopped in commemoration of the heroes and citizens that we lost that day and many were inspired to act on behalf of their country. Military enlistment spiked. The country was united in the search for justice and in the name of the honor of those we had lost.
This unity, however, was short-lived. An intelligence failure prompted an unpopular war that America had no business in. Many called for racial profiling in national security. Many American civil liberties were compromised in the name of safety. After these moves (which may have been extreme in and of themselves), there was a rise in leftist extremism and hate speech. Some likened Bush to the Nazis, and many called for his impeachment. Some conspiracy theorists went as far as to say he planned 9/11. Although I personally hated Bush’s policies, and in retrospect may have engaged in some rhetoric that borders on extremism, I realize now this spirit was unhealthy for the country and has caused an increasingly violent political climate.
Although I disapprove of the compromises of American rights by the Bush administration, they were nothing new. Franklin Roosevelt interned thousands of Japanese during World War II. Woodrow Wilson imprisoned critics of World War I, and the Red Scare greatly compromised the civil liberties of foreigners. Abraham Lincoln imprisoned secessionists, suspended habeas corpus and imposed martial law. John Adams passed the Alien and Sedition acts in 1798. The compromise of rights for safety has played its way through history and is no reason to liken Bush to the Nazis.
Waterboarding is a sad compromise of American ideals; however, this
torture, because of both its method and the scale it was used on, is
nothing compared to what went on in Nazi Germany. Although Bush’s policies
were outrageous and stretched the law, he did nothing to deserve being
called a Nazi, nor did he deserve impeachment. Any notion that he
planned the 9/11 attacks are sickening. Such rhetoric was, for its time,
extreme.
After Bush’s presidency, this extremism magnified and shifted sides.
A group called the Americans for Prosperity manufactured populism by bussing protesters into town halls to shout and boo at congressmen who supported health care reform.
The Tea Party movement has brought about extreme rhetoric about economics that promote ideals the economics world widely accepts as incorrect. This nearly brought the U.S. to default and resulted in a downgrade in the U.S. credit rating.
Many attempted to delegitimize President Obama by saying he was not born in this country and that he secretly does not belong to the Christian faith. Much of this was based on his race, and much of this ended when Obama was forced to “show his papers.”
Just as extremists on the left likened Bush to Hitler, extremists on the right are currently comparing Obama to Stalin.
As this extremism has become part of the political rhetoric, our country has been plagued by political paralysis. The past five years of congressional action have been characterized by ineffectual legislation brought about by awkward compromises in which neither party is willing to address the real issue. Compromise has become a dirty word, and nothing has gotten done. Our political process has been polarized, and the political dialogue has not been healthy.
Some results of this have been violent. In 2008, Bill Gwatney, a Democratic Party official in Arkansas, was assassinated. In 2009, abortion doctor George Tiller was shot dead by pro-life extremists. Earlier this year, six people were killed and Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords was nearly killed by a conspiracy theorist in Arizona who seemed to have no political allegiance.
The post 9/11 era of politics has been characterized by violent rhetoric that is doing harm to our country. As citizens, we have a responsibility to stop this rhetoric by not engaging in it. We must realize that people of different political views all share the interest of bettering America and are entitled to their opinions. Respect for the opinions of others is the key to ending this violent climate. If the parties do not begin to reconcile, the next decade of politics will be more toxic than anything we have seen before.
Spencer Lindsay ([email protected]) is a freshman majoring in political science.
