Last week the GOP had their National Security Debate. America is in a sad state of affairs when the villainous Dr. No is the most sane and reasonable person running for the Republican nomination. Newt Gingrich evidently forgot his dementia medicine and was convinced he was in World War II fighting for an oil baron’s rights. Rick Santorum was too concerned about the impending threat of Islamic terrorists to actually answer any question.
It is incredibly disturbing that these are what the GOP considers presidential material. If any of these mental cases managed to become president, the country would spiral even further into a fear-based frenzy. After 9/11, anyone who appeared Middle Eastern or Islamic in any fashion was presented with unabashed fear and hostility. Over time this xenophobia has managed to wane a little bit, but it appears that the candidates are trying to reignite it. They want America to be the land of the free — only if you are a white Christian male that is — and are generating hostilities towards anyone who might impede them.
This is why Obama’s presidency has caused such an upsurge in racism and general bigotry. The thought of a black man leading the country and doing a good job is a direct threat to this concept of an ideal America. The GOP is willing to destroy the country’s economy and stymie any potential progress simply so that Obama’s legacy will be tarnished. There is an old quote by political consultant Lee Atwater, who worked for Presidents Ronald Reagan and George H. W. Bush, about the Southern strategy of the GOP of cutting food stamps and legal services that describes this perfectly:
“You start out in 1954 by saying, ‘N*****, n*****, n*****.’ By 1968 you can’t say ‘n*****’ — that hurts you. Backfires. So you say stuff like forced busing, states’ rights and all that stuff. You’re getting so abstract now (that) you’re talking about cutting taxes, and all these things you’re talking about are totally economic things and a byproduct of them is (that) blacks get hurt worse than whites. And subconsciously maybe that is part of it. I’m not saying that. But I’m saying that if it is getting that abstract, and that coded, that we are doing away with the racial problem one way or the other. You follow me — because obviously sitting around saying, ‘We want to cut this,’ is much more abstract than even the busing thing, and a lot more abstract than ‘n*****, n*****.’”
The pure insane bigotry that is running the GOP is doing nothing but harming America as a whole. It has been proven by other countries many times that a solid welfare system not only keeps the citizens happier, but makes the economy significantly stronger overall. By trying to enforce a strict social caste with the minorities as the outcasts, all that is happening is America is weaker and worse off than before. Instead of fighting to keep minorities at the bottom and making the bottom as horrible as possible, focus needs to be placed on making the bottom livable so those who inevitably end up there can survive.
America needs to do away with this obsession of oppressing minorities. When driving in the South, you will undoubtedly see the flag of hate that is the confederate battle flag being flown with pride. In Germany, any Nazi-related material is banned and denial of the holocaust can get you jail time. Germany is ashamed and regretful of their flag of hate and yet in America not only is the confederate flag flown with pride, the confederate soldiers are regarded as heroes. The Civil War was about the right to own a person, no matter how you look at it. This is not something that should be lauded; Americans should be ashamed that the country was almost destroyed simply because a group wanted to own living human beings.
This country is badly in need of a social repair. Minorities should have just as equal access to a good life as the majority. There is something wrong with this country when an Islamic group is prevented from building their activity center simply because some people are afraid of them. If a person or group is evil, it is not because of the color of their skin or their creed. The reasons are much more deep than that, and to believe otherwise is pure asinine ignorance.
— Aaron Moyer is a junior in philosophy. He can be reached at amoyer3@utk.edu.