Political rhetoric creating hateful rift between Americans

A day doesn’t pass when I don’t get a political e-mail. Actually, I have to admit that some of them are incredibly clever and quite elaborate in their attempts to make me laugh, but at the same time encourage me to hate. However, this clever banter is not just creating an ever-widening rift between the left and the right; it’s creating a chasm between Americans.

I’ve spent much of my life ignorant to political parties and what they believed. In fact, if anything, I remember when one party used to think more like the other does, now. But that’s not where I’m going with this.

Whether it’s intentional or just evolving, the arrogant pride in being a Conservative or Liberal is sadly outweighing our altruistic pride of being Americans. We seem to have forgotten our common heritage. Below the surface of this great nation, our roots are all mingled and have been nourished by the decaying bodies of our forefathers. Many of our ancestors soaked the ground with their blood in order to provide us with freedom.

We all, whether on the left or the right, are positioned within the borders of America. No matter our leanings or beliefs, we are still of the same family. Have we forgotten that? Is that what our soldiers have died for, so that we can freely hate our own countrymen, because they have different ideas?

We’re no longer just poking fun at someone, because they’re a Conservative or a Democrat. Now the talk has become more personal and biting. The verbiage suggests that someone is “stupid” if they voted for Obama or they’re an “idiot” if they didn’t.

It wasn’t so long ago that swearing was considered uncouth and unacceptable, especially in public. Now our culture, if I dare call it that, is not just using foul words, but using them to wound each other. Total strangers are publicly goading one another into an argument over their political stance, whether they believe in God or any other belief or cause.

Bumper stickers practically invite road rage and t-shirts have gone beyond clever and have become unbearably obnoxious. Have we forgotten how to share our views in a civilized manner? Have we digressed to behaving like barbarians?

It’s impossible to avoid the constant barrage of barbed insults. You see or hear them on t-shirt, bumper stickers, in the media, and the pimples are festering on the Internet.

Can’t we be grateful that we get to live in a country that allows us untold freedom, rather than abuse that liberty by trying to tyrannize others with snide comments and veiled threats?

Let me personally ask you all something, if I may. Do you think that Mr. Bush was the first president to make mistakes in office? Are you of a mind that Mr. Obama won’t make mistakes? We all make mistakes and they affect other people on a larger scale than we might like to admit. How long would you like your nose ground into the dirt, before people let it go and gave you some grace?

My point is this; if we don’t stop focusing on the things that divide us, we will tear this nation apart. And as we rip each other to shreds, other nations will come in, like vultures, and gobble up the bloody scraps. It’s happened to every dominant nation, throughout history, and we can’t be too arrogant to believe that it can’t happen to America.

For years, our Bill of Rights and Constitution have made us the most powerful, influential and envied nation in the world. We have been an unsinkable ship, but like the Titanic, if she hits a big enough iceberg, she will go down.

As a fellow American, who loves her country, I beg you to use your weapons (this includes your tongues) not against each other, but against the real enemies that threaten our freedom – and it isn’t a fellow American.

Lee Ryan

Kent