When Did Disagreement Turn Us into Human Scum?
On May22, 1856 Massachusetts Senator Charles Sumner was beaten virtually to death on the floor of the Senate Chamber. Despite the complete lack of security of the era, no rogue bandit had wandered in in search of a brazen theft. Sumner’s accoster was a fellow lawmaker, a southern congressman named Preston Brooks. You see, Brooks was defending the honor of the South.
A few days earlier Sumner had delivered a speech vocalizing his fierce opposition to slavery and those who were working to have it spread across our nation’s booming westward expansion. There was no middle ground, no compromise to be had on the slavery issue.
One hundred and sixty four years later the nation once again finds itself held squarely in the vice grips of an ideological divide of which there again seems to be no middle ground or compromise. As so harkens back to that critical time in our nation’s history, with every passing day, each side is becoming more intractable and committed to their stance.
Twitter and social media are the 21st century canes. Sadly, the eloquence of the insults we sling at our opponents has degenerated to a staggering degree. In our storied Pre Civil War past, a Gentleman’s honor was among his most core virtues, particularly in the South. It was this pride that Sumner chose for his delightfully elegant insult, declaring he
“has read many books of chivalry, and believes himself a chivalrous knight, with sentiments of honor and courage. Of course, he has chosen a mistress… who, though ugly to others is always lovely to him, though polluted in the sight of the world, is chaste in his sight; I mean the harlot Slavery.”
But then as now, both sides were convinced that the other was determined to destroy the country. Although in those days the dissolution of the Union was a constant fear and very real threat: our nation was less than fifty years old and still viewed as a doomed experiment by many both at home and abroad. At every grievous clash, some southern state or another threatened to secede. And we in fact came startlingly close to Civil War in 1832-33, over what else but Tariffs!
Our democracy has outlived the skeptics and naysayers, and had the strength to endure a protracted and extremely bloody Civil War. But we once again find ourselves on one side or the other of a seemingly insurmountable partisan gulf.
And once again we face identical information and reach diametrically opposed conclusions, based upon our individual experiences and biases. To the Southerners it was very clear: the constitution extended states the right to make their own laws regarding slavery, and the attempted interference in those rights were nothing less than treasonous.
Most in the North were willing to let the South do what it so pleased —and many, in fact agreed with the South that abolitionists were indeed traitors to the Union—but they had no interest in seeing it spread into new lands as the nation’s boundaries expanded.
We have all seen, and most read, the transcript of President Trump’s by now infamous call with the president of the Ukraine. An image of the actual document is posted on the most conservative and liberal media sights. Right there, in black and white. It’s only five pages long, and it was largely mutually congratulatory banter - not exactly a tough read.
No one can refute the fact that the next statement out of President Trump’s mouth after Ukrainian President Zelensky said
“I would also like to thank you for your great support in the area of defense” was
“I would like you to do us a favor though.”
Nor can we refute the statements made by witnesses in hearings confirming that the President did indeed authorize that further military aid to the Ukraine be tied to an investigation of the Bidens.
We can deliberate whether the original conversation warranted impeachment hearings, and if the subsequent evidence gathered in fact warrants impeachment. But I don’t hear much in the way of reasoned debate occurring. Instead, we are deluged by an incessant 21st century caning, with half the population being assailed.
Our leaders have clearly always tried to use their voices to influence public opinion, that is clearly a central part of their roll. But we are in uncharted waters for our nation in terms of statements that are blatantly factually inaccurate being accepted as truths. For that is, in fact, the premise of propaganda. As so succinctly stated by the twentieth century’s most successful master of misinformation and creation of alternative reality to sway public opinion.
“If you wish the sympathy of the broad masses,you must tell them the crudest and most stupid things.”
Adolf Hitler made keen observation in his autobiographical manifesto, Mein Kampf, written and published several years before his ascent into power. However a little over a year before he invaded Poland, triggering the start of World War II, a chilling example of the lies he spun to support the alternative reality he wanted the world to see and believe was reported from a public speech.
“What has been strewn about only these past few weeks in the way of altogether crazy, stupid and reckless allegations about Germany is simply outrageous. What can one possibly say, when Reuters invents attacks on my life, and English newspapers talk about huge waves of arrest in Germany, about the closing of the German borders to Switzerland, Belgium, France, etc.”
Alternative reality is indeed a scary thing, equally so on both sides of any political divide. But I can’t help but think that the tens of thousands of political dissidents and rivals that were rounded up and sent to concentration camps throughout the 1930s would consider there to be anything “crazy, stupid or reckless” about such allegations. And yet the world largely bought it, or at least turned a blind eye.
So here we sit. Republican law makers are buying it, or turning a blind eye. And the masses are eating up the crudest and most stupid things.
It is, of course, embarrassing that the leader of the free world has to result to third grade school yard bullying, and can’t find more eloquent insults than Human Scum. But by now everyone seems to be just accepting that alternative reality as one would the insufferable uncle at Thanksgiving - oh that ok dear, its just the way Uncle Donald is.
But the blatant lies are far more disconcerting, and alarming echoes of some of the greatest propaganda machines of human history. The president can not make something true just because he says so. What on earth Rights of the Republican Party have been taken? Since when does someone have the right to have evidence they don’t like head because they are a Republican?
President Trump clearly has the fine are of controlling the sympathy of the masses through the promulgation of absolutely idiotic statements. While this alternative reality is in-and-of-itself disconcerting, it pales when held up to his '“Make America Hate Again” efforts. Most people look to their leaders —in religion, in government— for setting the standards and tone of admirable, and if not at least acceptable behavior. When people’s senses are daily inundated with the verification that their basest instincts are not only acceptable, but perhaps even laudable they are delighted. What could be better than that kind of validation? But sanctioned hatred is much like a poisonous gas - it quickly permeates the cracks and crevices of society - and the removal and re-containment process extremely protracted and difficult.
But then I hear people inquire what hate is he advocating? The omission of the actual word hate fails to render his messages any less hateful.
The great political divide in our country is roughly fifty/fifty. What a phenomenal opportunity that is for President Trump to fan an already enflamed discord towards half of our population with every syllable he utters or types. Day after day, hour after hour, he unleashes his provocative “hate your neighbor” campaign. He never misses even the slightest opportunity to reinforce for his supporters that the half of the country that disagrees with them are “Human Scum.” That’s right. Disagreement=Human Scum.
While he continues his nonstop media blitz to further polarize the nation along party lines, he relishes almost any opportunity to denigrate any group that doesn’t identify as Republican and white. Who, for example, could forget “there are some very good people on both sides” when responding to the white supremacist violence in North Carolina. Nazis? There were good Nazis?
We will skim over his unapologetic misogyny, just as the American voters did. But the racial slurs are unending, unrcontionable, and just blatantly overlooked, Or a recent jaw dropper of suggesting to some female congresswomen of color that they “return to the countries they came from.” Or this doozie:
“Why are we having all these people from shithole countries come here? We should have more people from places like Norway.”
-President Donald J. Trump
I have lately been allowing myself the guilty pleasure of re-watching The West Wing. Of course I understand that it is fiction, but does allow my imagination a bit of hope to envision a world in which our nation valued intelligent, articulate dialogue in our leaders and lawmakers, in such sharp contrast to our current Archie Bunker administration.
In an episode I recently watched, one of the characters noted that political parties have value, but only if they lead to statesmanship, otherwise its just theater.
What we have today, on both sides of the aisle, is something very unlike statesmanship: and it is well beyond drama, perhaps even past melodrama. Honestly, I am not even sure it would qualify as a reality TV series.
There absolutely is room on this stage for a reasoned debate as to whether President Trumps offenses as laid out clearly in the hearings are impeachable, but I have yet to have anyone explain to me cogently how attempting to garner a favor from a foreign leader by threatening to withhold aid is not a blatant abuse of the power of the office.
But perhaps that is because he has been abusing that very power from the moment he stepped into office, using it as a bully pulpit to sow hatred and distrust in the vary nation he was elected to lead.
Charles Sumner and Preston Brooks each became immediate heroes to their constituencies - Brooks for almost killing a man who’s opinions were contrary to his own - Sumner for almost dying for articulating his. Brooks actually received numerous canes as tokens of appreciation, as apparently he damaged his in extreme veracity of his assault.
It is deeply disheartening that through the progress of over 160, the cane has evolved into nothing more than epithet “Human Scum.” And just as happened on the floor of the Senate Chamber that day, everyone seems to be simply looking away.