I was embarrassed for my country when many Americans let the fear of terrorism turn them into cringing cowards, willing to give up our basic civil liberties for the illusion of safety, ignoring how we are 200 times more likely to die in our automobile than in a terrorist attack on our soil. I am equally embarrassed today. Many of my fellow Americans have let themselves be manipulated by corporate interests and ratings-hungry media. They have become frightened, angry, and unable to cooperate to form a more perfect union. Why do so many Americans have so little faith in our fundamental Constitutional principles? Why all the fear?
"WE’RE HEADED FOR TYRANNY!"
A reasonable response may include: The nation elected a liberal Democrat by a substantial margin, and he's behaving exactly like a liberal Democrat, not a tyrant. We have representation in government. We have elections every two years. We have a functioning court system. Our taxes have not gone up in the past six months. We are a sovereign nation. Our Constitutional principles are sound.
Complaints about "taxation without representation" make no sense while elected legislators represent us. We get to vote them out of office if the majority of constituents want a change, and vote in people we do trust. Calling for some kind of vague but ominous "revolution" in the meantime is counterproductive and can encourage violence by unbalanced fringe elements. Our Congress still makes our laws, approves federal judges and top-level managers, establishes annual budgets and authorizes all executive branch spending. You don’t live in tyranny when you can choose your representatives at the voting booth.
"WE’RE BECOMING A SOCIALIST (OR MARXIST OR COMMUNIST) NATION!"
A reasonable response may include: Socialism (or whatever the 1950s-style bogeyman du jour might be) refers to an economic system. We enjoy a capitalist economy in the United States and this has not changed in the past six months. In recent decades we have certainly increased the number and complexity of government-administered public services funded by tax dollars, but taxation and government spending does not equal socialism. How are the recent public health insurance proposals all that different from the many government services already in existence to "promote the general welfare?"
Socialistic government activities in the United States include interstate highways, Medicare, the Environmental Protection Agency, county health departments, Medicaid, public libraries, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, unemployment compensation, tax-funded fire and police departments, Social Security, the Federal Communications Commission, disability insurance, the Federal Aviation Administration, welfare benefits, food stamp programs, and public schools (where, if you were paying attention, "socialism" was probably accurately defined).
Which of these tax-funded public services frighten you so much? Which of these are you willing to do without to avoid an encroachment of socialism in our nation? These are not rhetorical questions.
"WE’RE SPENDING TOO MUCH MONEY WE DON’T HAVE!"
A reasonable response may include: This is nothing new. The cost of a new public health insurance plan, or other government activity we don’t have the immediate funds to pay for, may simply be added to the eleven TRILLION dollar national debt. That would be the staggeringly huge mountain of debt nobody seemed to care so much about six months ago, or six years ago. Why all the horror and outrage now?
"THE PRESIDENT IS REALLY A FOREIGN CITIZEN!"
Oh, please. Tin foil hat. Flat earth. Tooth fairy. That is all.
"THE GOVERNMENT IS CONTROLLING AMERICAN BUSINESSES!"
A reasonable response may include: Government involvement in businesses has been part of our nation since the early 1900s when President Theodore Roosevelt, a Republican, took steps to prevent monopolies and centralize commerce. The government has been meddling in industry for years to regulate environmental concerns and public safety issues. Why all the terror about government interference in business now?
A recent article in The Atlantic explained how only one-fifth of one percent of all business assets in America are nationalized, even after the government's recent questionable acquisitions. One-fifth of one percent is not a very slippery slope. Is this what all the fear is about? One-fifth of one percent?
"ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS WILL GET FREE HEALTHCARE!"
A reasonable response may include: You can’t put the toothpaste back in the tube, and we can’t allow children visiting our nation to suffer from illness or injury while we wrangle about political expediency. Surely we can come to some understanding about this without being so afraid of change. Immigration reform is part of economic recovery, and illegal immigrants have been tapping federally funded services for many years now. Again, why the sudden panic?
"WE JUST WANT WHAT’S RIGHT FOR AMERICA!"
A reasonable response may include: A practical analysis of all the fear-mongering reveals that it makes little sense strategically. Remember how the last Presidential election turned out despite all the inflammatory "He's a terrorist/socialist/foreigner" allegations? Maybe the right wing should re-think how this disruptive anger is going to play with the centrists and independents, who will REALLY decide the next few elections.
IN CONCLUSION
Remind your frightened fellow citizen that an "us versus them" attitude will never advance our nation. It's not the fault of the liberals or the conservatives, it's the fault of the liberals versus the conservatives. The other guys in the left-right dichotomy aren't ever going away, and all this hostility won't change a thing. You are both stuck with each other, in "one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for ALL."
Gently advise them that maybe it's time to try for consensus instead of conflict. There are ways to make a difference with dignity, and without fear. Whenever somebody obviously paraphrases from an extremist website, scare tactic du jour, or chain e-mail, we should be ready with accurate information from Factcheck or another nonpartisan source, OR counter with your convincing, well-expressed partisan position. Truth and good critical analysis will win the day if the listener isn’t hopelessly dogmatic. And if they are unmoved by your insights, it’s "...liberty and justice for all," not just for those who agree with us. Lead by example. It worked for the Democratic ticket during the 2008 campaign.
And remind the frightened right-wingers how we have weathered Democratic Party presidents before. If we can’t survive the next three-and-a-half years, we don’t deserve to continue as a nation. But we certainly will. We’re already good at it.