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Hate Rhetoric
That’s My Opinion
By Bob Robinson
Jan. 14, 2011
This has been a long week. It has also been an eventful one.
The blasphemy on our nation was the attack on a United States
Representative, Gabrielle Giffords of Arizona. While she and other
victims are likely to survive, six people – including a nine-year-old
girl, an aide and a federal judge – didn’t.
Since “Gabby,” as she is called by her colleagues, is a Democrat, it
was only a matter of hours before her fellow Dems started shooting off
their mouths about “right wing hate speech” being responsible.
Come on, folks. This had nothing to do with left-right politics. It had
everything to do with a lone nut case going off his rocker. His bedtime
reading was Marx and Hitler’s “Mein Kampf.”
My respect for Pres. Obama went up a few notches when he “chastised”
his base for ramping up the partisan attacks… I know, don’t worry, I
still don’t like his politics. But he has taken the “high road”
regarding the political pot shots bouncing back and forth over this
tragedy.
Another event occurred Thursday morning that, in many ways, ties into
this. It has to do with facebook… an earth-shaking phenomenon that has
changed the face of our society and our role in the world.
I added a “facebook friend” – at his request – a young man from
Liberia, who said he’s currently living in Ghana in a Liberian refugee
camp. He’s 17, said he saw my picture and asked me to be a “friend.”
While I’m always a little nervous about accepting an invitation from
someone I don’t know, and who has no mutual friends, I took a chance.
You don’t often “know” who you are responding to, and personal
information should be kept to only that which you have no objection to
the entire world knowing.
I’m glad I did… I believe he’s who he says he is. His English struggles
and there is kind of a childish simplicity about him as he tries to
follow and learn about our language and mannerisms…
I mentioned once that at 66, I’m old enough to be his grandfather. In
his response, he adopted me. He now calls me Grandpa Bob.
I’ve asked him to write about his experiences and give me permission to
expand his list of friends. He wants more friends, but I don’t know yet
how much he’ll write. We’ll see. However, there’s a lesson in this.
How many millions more young people from countries thousands of miles
away are surfing the Internet, linking to “facebook friends,” and
reading about the partisan “hate” politics being blasted back and forth
between American pundits of different ideologies?
Is this the picture of us that we want them to see? I don’t think so.
Safely expanding our horizons to citizens in other countries should be
an opportunity for understanding between our nations and cultures. Like
it or not, this is a good thing as we grow closer and closer through
technology.
The same thing can be said about our political climate.
I hate the “left” political agenda. I believe it damages the very fiber
of our character and the strength of our democratic Republic. It is a
belief structure that pays no attention to the failures of the past
because it doesn’t suit their goals… no matter how many times they are
proven wrong, they simply say they are right.
And that’s that.
That doesn’t mean the person holding those beliefs has to be any less
honorable.
Think about it.
Do we have problems that need to be addressed? Sure. More than I can
count. Will the solutions come from the far left or far right? I doubt
it.
Just one example (of many) is our immigration policy. The left wants to
give 12 million illegal immigrants a free ride into American
citizenship. The right wants them caught and sent back where they came
from.
Neither is realistic for many reasons, and both sides seem to forget
that there is a reason why we are the shining light to the downtrodden
of the world. We are still the greatest nation in history; we are still
the land of golden opportunity and even those who live in our
definition of “poverty” are envied as having a lifestyle only dreamt of
in other countries.
The challenge to both major political parties is first to stop the
“hate” speech. Regardless of our beliefs we are all Americans!
Well… most of us, anyway.
If we can somehow manage to accomplish that, then our next challenge is
to return to the Constitution upon which our country was founded and,
within its mandates, get to work solving the problems of a growing,
envied nation.
We have a lot of work to do. Serious work.
And hate rhetoric addresses none of it.
That’s my opinion. What’s yours?
Bob Robinson is the
retired editor of The Daily Advocate, Greenville, Ohio, a Senior
Scribe, a Member of the Senior Scribes Scholarship Fund and Editor of
County News Online. If you wish to receive a daily notification of his
comments, opinions and reports, send your email address to:
countynewsonline@gmail.com. Feel free to express your views.
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