We the Losers

John McCain and Sarah Palin turned a corner last week, after the Vice Presidential debate. Palin managed not to embarrass herself too badly, and therefore was declared a winner, and apparently ready to be vice president, and possibly president, without having ever held a single news conference or really leveled with the American people. But it is the reality of McCain's campaign that being able to approximate mediocrity is sufficient. With this amazing feat, Ms. Palin was fully vetted. She was ready to go forth and snarl.

Losing ground in the polls and without a real message other than empty rhetoric and the occasional 180 degree turn on this issue or that, McCain unleashed his minion, and away she went, doing what she does best - attacking. She's someone who doesn't do well with "annoying" questions, but she's downright perky while twisting a knife in your innards, whether you are a moose or a presidential candidate, and there are certain people who just love her, love her. There are even some pundits who "sit a little straighter" when she gives you that old Wasilla wink.

Palin is all hopped up on power now. She feels it. It's gotta be God's will, you betcha. And she's going to tell her followers how dangerous and scary and "different" Barack Obama is. How he's "pallin' around with terrorists." How he doesn't have the vision of America that "we" have.

Palin's righteous sounding, but unfounded, attacks on Obama apparently resonate on small minded, bigoted people who are quite likely terrified of something they can't understand - like a highly accomplished and obviously superior man who happens to have a shade of skin a few tones darker than they do. So they'll believe anything. They'll get all hopped up with Palin and start yelling out all kinds of horrible chants, like "terrorist" and "kill him." What Palin is doing, and knows she's doing, is inciting a mob.

Two images come to mind when I think of what she's doing, one funny and one frightening. The funny one is the mob scene in the original version of Frankenstein, with all the villagers storming the castle with their torches. It's funny because it's fiction, and it's campy. (My friends tell me that Jon Stewart used a scene just like that on The Daily Show, but I didn't watch it - yet.)

The other image is much worse. It's of Hitler inciting a crowd to hate Jews, emphasizing their "difference" and making people afraid. Fear turning to hate.

As an aside, I had a friend who was once a member of the Dutch Resistance. He was captured and taken to Berlin, where he was tortured and enslaved by the Nazis. He told only a few stories from those times, but one of them has always remained in my mind. He told of being paraded with a group of Nazi slaves in front of a huge gathering. They were placed at the front of the crowd, while Hitler took the stage. My friend, who spoke German, listened to Hitler speak. What he told me was chilling. He said, "Listening to him, it was clear that he had some kind of power - a charisma. When he spoke, people stood up. They yelled, 'Sig Heil!' And, what was worse, is that I could feel it too, from the front row, and I had to restrain myself from standing up with them."

Palin has something. She has a natural charisma. She hasn't any wisdom or experience to speak of. She has a distorted world view and a vicious streak the size of her famous Alaskan pipeline, but she attracts people and can move people in a way that McCain never could. So, to me, she's dangerous, because she can incite people into a hate state. She is doing it now.

The problem is, whoever wins this presidential election, we are all losers because of what McCain and Palin are doing now. Let me say that again, Joe Biden-like. We are all losers.

McCain and Palin are poisoning the well (an old tactic used in warfare when you were leaving a territory or forced out. You poisoned the well so that your enemy could not use it.) They are inciting hatred and possibly violence, possibly as another desperate strategy to charge up their "base," and possibly simply as a scorched earth policy. But whatever they are doing, we are going to be the losers.

We live in a fractured society with diverse views and beliefs. In fact, the United States has never been free of prejudice and conflict in its entire history. Great strides have been made. We've freed the slaves and enfranchised women. We've fought for civil rights and emerged as a beacon of hope and equality in the world. But we have never entirely eliminated our divisions, nor, perhaps should we - as long as we can carry our different views together for the betterment of all.

But despite all the gains we have made over more than two centuries, people like McCain and Palin, and their predecessors, Gingrich, Norquist, Reed, Cheney, Bush and others, seek to accentuate and inflame our divisions and set us against each other. Our nation today is more deeply divided, more deeply partisan, and more critically weakened than it was eight years ago. And now we have people stirring the pot for nothing more than political gain. Country first? Give me a break.

So we lose, because our neighbors will hate each other. We lose because our leaders (some of them) show that they have no real values, and as leaders, they are expected to set the standards for our nation. We lose because, as Abraham Lincoln once said, "A house divided against itself cannot stand."

Barack Obama has run a campaign centered around hope, change and healing the divisions. It's clear that his belief in the American people is profound and positive. It's time for McCain and Palin to realize that only by promoting unity and peace among us can they truly put country first.

UPDATE: This video doesn't say it all, but it's certainly indicative of the closed-minded and factually devoid qualities of the mob. The most amazing statement, to me, was that Obama was a terrorist. Why? Look at his name. That's it?

Click to watch: The Palin Mob

Comments

[MissA]

So the question is: how do we the people stop this craziness? Anti-Fascist mentioned that people are standing up in record numbers to stop this? they are? WHERE? (I mean, why aren't the people in the streets, calling for McSame to call off his pitbull?)

& the second question is: now that we've seen this hateful mob-rousing, where do we go from here as a nation? what happens AFTER the election, when this kind of sentiment is brewing in the hearts of folks in our nation?

[jadeba]

Yes, you've got this one nailed. The recent rallies of P, particulary, have reminded a lot of us of (yes, I'll say it) H*itler or M*ssolini - inciting rabid followers to near violence. We've seen this before - and we know how it played out and ended. M-P will sacrifice the common good, will happily spread hatred and mistrust, will gladly destroy America to win this election.

That the press seem ignorant of the consequences of their actions, is very sad and dangerous for all of us. They are more dangerous than B-C ever were.

[DemoMom]

Thank you - this is right on the nail. To watch Palin incite the crowd is truly nauseating. You had a similar effect at the GOP convention where it was all "attack, attack, attack". When I watched the Obama speech at the Dems convention, I was full of hope and felt very inspired. Wouldn't it be nice if the McCain/Palin ticket could make people feel hopeful and positive? It's not going to happen.......because they thrive on fear and negativity.

[mommadona]

"Palin has something. She has a natural charisma. She hasn't any wisdom or experience to speak of. She has a distorted world view and a vicious streak the size of her famous Alaskan pipeline, but she attracts people and can move people in a way that McCain never could. So, to me, she's dangerous, because she can incite people into a hate state. She is doing it now."

Women know this type of their own...

It's called the vicious righteous bitch.

They usually operate within their own little circle of influence - clubs/school boards/sports/gyms.

They push their own agenda with innuendo and "them against us" and gossip and just down right nasty and vicious prodding.

She is one of the worse I have ever seen.

This woman needs to be shunned by her peers - other women of all stripe.

[Antifascist-08]

Rusel

Sorry, but i am not a loser. So there goes your "we are all losers" theory. I always hate that expression anyway. Sometimes it is appropriate, but it is such a cop out.

We are not losers because we have stood up in record numbers to stop this madness.

We are not losers because we are not giving up.

We are being tested, but we are not losers if we build a better country.

We have the most complex culture and racial/ ethnic mix in the world. We have taken on the task of trying to live together as no other country has ever done. There are bound to be problems. All the things you mention have been here since this country was founded. Read the founding fathers. There will always be the dregs of society, but those people are not us.

This election is a turning point in history. We only lose if we give up. We are going to win this election and the mood of this country is going to shift.

Yes, its ugly, getting out of this mess. It has to be that way. The stakes are high and the people in charge are some pretty sick puppies. We had lost our courage and our hope. We played into the hands of the fascists. Fear rules the land.

It takes strength, courage and leadership to change the course of history.

What counts is what we do.

[Rusel deMaria - Huffpost Blogger]

Antifascist, I hear what you're saying, and I'm not saying we are losers, unless - unless we allow mob rule to poison our society. I totally agree with everything you say. We're in total harmony here. My piece here is more of a cautionary note - that this sort of hate mongering is where we all lose - even those who think they win - because it is only in harmony and unity that our nation truly can shine and live up to its own ideals. At least, that's how I see it.

And I'm hardly giving up. I've never given up.

"It takes strength, courage and leadership to change the course of history." Awesome!

Thank you for your perspective.

[pons1595]

The Nazi comparisons are right on. "House divided" is what I see also. I have emailed the McCain campaign complaining, but they are not rational over there so a continuation is inevitable. "Poisoning the well" such an apt image! Those who drink from this well will perish!

[ladyelect08]

Rusel, you made such a profound statement. I have witness the hatred that is being spread. My car was parked in a parking lot and when I came back someone poured coffee all over my window where the Obama/Biden sticker was. McCain ?Palin has incited a movement.

Yes, you are right we are the losers, but we can take a stand and call them out on it.

[Rusel deMaria - Huffpost Blogger]

Thanks, Ladyelect08. I agree that we can take a stand, but I hope we can take the stand of tolerance and unity, follow OUR chosen candidate instead of those who promote hate and division. It can, in some ways, be the hardest thing we ever do, to stand up to injustice with peaceful hearts.