No tea, thanks
Written by Don Burnard | | opinion@toledofreepress.comI don’t know about you, but I’m getting sick and tired of the so-called tea baggers who are running around the country on lobbyist-paid-for buses trying to convince people that they speak for the majority of Americans. In concert with loons like Rush, Glenn and Sean, they feel free to make up the most outrageous lies and scare tactics to try to make sure that Obama doesn’t succeed on any level. It doesn’t matter if the seniors, or the middle class in general, are harmed. The most important thing is that this band of sore losers disrupts anything that might give credit to a Democratic president, especially a black one.
These racist, xenophobic cretins love to preach about how Obama is leading us down the path of socialism, and portray him as a fascist Nazi, when I would be willing to bet my next paycheck that 99 percent of them couldn’t give you a rational description of what constitutes socialism, fascism or even Nazism. One of the favorite ploys of the puppet masters of the right is to accuse their enemies of being what they really are. Perhaps, instead of taking all of their demagoguery at face value, people should take the time to read up on the subjects that are being thrown around with virtually no context whatsoever.
Historian Robert Paxton has spent years studying what makes a country turn fascist. In 1998, he published a paper in “The Journal of American History” in which he laid out the five steps that take place for fascism to gain control. I’m not going to outline them in a column this size, but I would like to cite his definition of fascism according to www.ourfuture.org: “Fascism is a system of political authority and social order intended to reinforce the unity, energy and purity of communities in which liberal democracy stands accused of producing division and decline.”
He further elaborates this as “a form of political behavior marked by obsessive preoccupation with community decline, humiliation or victimhood and by compensatory cults of unity, energy and purity, in which a mass-based party of committed nationalist militants, working in uneasy, but effective collaboration with traditional elites, abandons democratic liberties and pursues with redemptive violence and without ethical or legal restraints goals of internal cleansing and external expansion.”
If this doesn’t define the right wing to a “tea,” I don’t know what does. These so-called patriots remind me of the Brown Shirts of Nazi fame more than anyone else. They have no respect for this country, the office of the presidency, the constitution, or any of the founding fathers’ vision of what kind of country this should be.
The most recent examples of idiocy are the claim that the president’s speech to schoolchildren was an attempt to advance his “socialist” agenda. Give me a break. Next, we follow up with Rep. Joe Wilson of South Carolina calling the president a “liar” on the floor of the Congress during his speech because Obama said illegal aliens would not be covered by the health care legislation being debated. Perhaps if Good Ol’ Joe read the bills, assuming he can read, he would have noticed that both the House and Senate versions exclude illegals from coverage. The Republican leadership tisk-tisked the violation of congressional rules and told everyone how wrong they thought it was to do that, but incredibly didn’t disavow the message. Perhaps, they prefer to be illiterate on the subject, too.
The Republican Party has become a party of radical fringe elements, who think the fact that a black man becoming the president of the United States is a direct attack on their manhood, and everything this country is s’posed to be, and corporate shills who will use these dupes to their advantage, even though it is against their own best interests.
How did we ever let the inmates gain control of the asylum for the previous eight years, and why does the mainstream media give these people any credence at all? Why do they let obvious lies go unchallenged, in the name of entertainment instead of responsible journalism?
I would like to thank Sara Robinson for her great articles on the rise of fascism in America, on the Web site ourfuture.org. Her articles are well worth the read.
E-mail columnist Don Burnard at letters@toledofreepress.com.
i’m curious- is it possible to disagree with obama’s policies and not be labeled as racist? it seems so convenient to label people this way, therefore trying to dismiss their opinions. using words like loons, racists and other names does not help people to discuss issues rationally.
This comment was posted on September 21st, 2009 at 8:52 pmIt is possible to disagree with any point of view. Unforunately, any discussion is being completely overridden by shouting screaming loons(yes,loons) who have no interest in fostering an intelligent discussion on the issues. It’s my belief that the sole purpose is to keep rational discussion from taking place because they have no rational arguments, only obstruction. -Don
This comment was posted on September 22nd, 2009 at 8:50 pmdon- this whole situation cracks me up. i have been a voter for 37 years, and never missed an election. i have been to city coucil and lucas county commissioner meetings. when the public was called on, everybody there gave their opinions in a calm manner. we were promptly cut off, while those who agreed talked ad infinitum.
if those in government actually listened to us, we wouldn’t have to shout. instead, when we give them our opinions, we get called loons. we’re just concerned citizens who get tired of not being listened to.
This comment was posted on September 23rd, 2009 at 8:35 amI think the difference here is that Don chooses his words with thought and with a historical context of their meaning. When he uses the term ‘racism’ he uses it as a literary tool but also as a way to comment on society. Too many people throw words out without really knowing what they mean, except for the fact that they stir controversy. There will always be a certain part of the population that will never reach that intellectual level, however, because they are not capable of considering abstract ethical principles.
This comment was posted on September 23rd, 2009 at 11:22 amBoo…..Boo Don…..Boo
What do you think the vision of the founding fathers was?
You have been exposed by your Leftest diatribe…your true colors are now known by all.
Brown Shirts? PALEEZE…..
Racism remains a two way street….
You would be better off if you quit drinking the cool-aid….and NEVER watch PMSNBC again.
Aren’t Chris and Keith a hoot? Ed is so funny. And Oh that Rachel! Calm and collected…this group.
This comment was posted on September 23rd, 2009 at 12:51 pmlaura- you obviously agree with don, and that’s ok. are you saying that those of us on the other side are not intelligent? maybe i’m not because this “abstract ethical principal” makes no sense to me.
don’t get me wrong- i respect your opinion, but calling those who disagree with them names, nobody advances their cause.
This comment was posted on September 23rd, 2009 at 8:33 pmSo the Toledo Free Press wouldn’t just let you type “F You, Republicans!” over and over again for 10 paragraphs, eh? Because that’s what this reads like.
Fear from the conservatives, hate from the liberals. What ever happened to logic and reason in our political discussions? Oh, right, that won’t land you on CNN or Fox.
This comment was posted on September 24th, 2009 at 9:49 amIf you last three read my post, you’d see that what I disagree with is the inane yelling and obstruction of any rational discussion. It has nothing to do with intelligence, just ulterior motives. If you want to have a discussion, then do it with dignity and respect for the people that might actually want to hear what their elected representative has to say, not what FreedomWorks wants their minions to do to disrupt the democratic process.
This comment was posted on September 24th, 2009 at 9:34 pmdon- i know why people are mad, and why they are yelling. i have talked to politicians, and have gone to local city council and commisioner meetings. when allowed to speak, i always talked respectfully. usually i got cut off in about a minute. people are tired of not being listened to. i would much prefer to have an open, honest discussion too, but when government won’t hesr us, i don’t know what else to do other than let them know we are mad.
This comment was posted on September 25th, 2009 at 9:44 amExcuse me but just how many arrests have been made during tea parties or on 9-11 in DC? Give me a break. This story is overwhemingly biased and full of B.S.
This comment was posted on September 27th, 2009 at 8:15 pmWhen the libs hated Bush and the war and everything he ever did where was your story then?????
Thank you for such an insightful and accurate article!
This comment was posted on October 1st, 2009 at 9:18 pm