The Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) started yesterday and after reading summaries of the speeches that were given, I can say fairly confidently that I have never been so concerned for the future of this country. The big difference between what is going on now at the CPAC and many of the other crises this country has faced in my lifetime, is the fact that there are now so many political leaders who are working so hard to undermine American democracy and spread baseless lies about election fraud.
I grew up during the Cold War when every American knew who the ‘enemy’ was. The Soviet Union was ‘the enemy’ and there were times when nuclear war seemed a real possibility. That was the era of fallout shelters and drills at school when we would climb under our desks. The Cuban missile crisis in 1963 was truly frightening as the United States and the Soviet Union came perilously close to an armed conflict that could have escalated to something beyond imagination. Fortunately, the Soviets blinked, their ships turned around and they pulled their missiles out of Cuba. At least then, we knew who the enemy was, and the political leaders in this country were fairly unified against Soviet aggression.
Right on the tail of the show down with the Soviet Union the Civil Rights Act of 1964 was enacted. As parts of the country refused to implement desegregation, civil rights activists like Dr. Martin Luther King led marches and acts of civil disobedience. In 1965, this culminated with the march from Selma to Montgomery, Alabama. The march was met with violence and came to be known as Bloody Sunday, but that triggered more than 80 supportive demonstrations around the country. It also led to the Voting Rights Act of 1965. It was a tumultuous time. And, although there were some politicians who did not embrace the Civil Rights Act wholeheartedly, there was no real effort to undermine American democracy.
The Vietnam war was dragging on and becoming increasing unpopular in the late sixties. There were anti-war demonstrations around the country and some of these turned violent. Some politicians vocally opposed the war but most elected officials condemned the violence and used the forums afforded them in Congress to make their case against the war. Opinions were quite varied, but again, there was no real effort to undermine the institutions upon which this country was founded.
In the next decades the country endured recessions, natural disasters, social problems, and even the occasional threat or small attack from one of our adversaries. Throughout it all, there was always a peaceful transfer of power from one administration to the next and a shared respect for the institutions of American government. Not only that, but there was a true desire and ability to develop bipartisan solutions in Congress. However, several things happened over the next decades that marked the beginning of the end. The Fairness Doctrine, which required media outlets to present balanced reporting on issues, was repealed in 1987. This gave rise to talk show hosts like Rush Limbaugh, who was able to build an empire on saying outrageous things over the air – whether they were true or not. Fox News became the television version of Limbaugh on steroids and made Rupert Murdoch a very wealthy man in the process. Selling lies for dollars.
Newt Gingrich, a Republican representative from Georgia from 1979 to 1999, began using a ‘take no prisoners’ approach to his stay in Congress. This led to his ascension to be Speaker of the House from 1995 to 1999. He really had no interest in bipartisan legislation and was all about winning, keeping and exerting control for the Republican party. Political scientists have credited Gingrich with playing a key role in undermining democratic norms in the United States and hastening political polarization and partisanship.
And finally, along comes Trump who worked tirelessly to throw gas on the flames of division and mistrust of the media. At times, it seemed as if his sole goal was to completely undermine the democratic institutions upon which this country was built. And now, there is a whole three-day conference filled with senior Republican politicians who have joined the movement. There are over 100 laws trying to make their way through various Republican controlled state legislatures aimed at restricting voting. The Arizona state legislature is even going so far as to try to give the legislature the power to override the election officials and select their own slate of electors. This is not democracy!
Today, the biggest threat to America is not from any foreign adversary. The biggest threat to America today is that it will rot from the inside out. It is from the fact that so many politicians are unwilling to put country and principles before party and, even worse, a single person. Even the strongest foundation will crack under ongoing and unrelenting attacks. America has weathered a lot of assaults of various kinds over the years. I am not so confident it will survive this one.
There is a common tread that runs through the Trump Party. It is hate. Hate masks personal insecurities. Not all insecure people are haters, but all haters are insecure people. Hate elevates the hater above the hated. Haters cannot stop hating without exposing their personal insecurities. Haters can only stop hating when they face their insecurities.
There are six stages in hate groups:
Stage 1: The Haters Gather
Stage 2: The Hate Group Defines Itself
Stage 3: The Hate Group Disparages the Target
Stage 4: The Hate Group Taunts the Target
Stage 5: The Hate Group Attacks the Target Without Weapons
Stage 6: The Hate Group Attacks the Target with Weapons
Goal: To Destroy the Target
From Psychology Today
Seeing the expression on the speakers faces at CPAC reveals their hatred.