Extremism in recent years seems to pop its ugly head up again and again, both locally and nationally. The vast majority of American voters tends to want America to tread down the middle of the road and not to veer off either to the extreme left or right. Today, according to recent polls, we see only 21 percent of the American electorate willing to identify themselves as Republicans. Why has such a basic shift occurred in American politics?
One needs to look no further than many local information outlets to find the answer, as they act as a microcosm of what is happening nationally. During recent years, extreme right-wing individuals, through the use of fear and hysteria, tried to convince us that we as Americans should use terrorism to fight terrorism—this despite the fact that virtually every interrogation expert and high-ranking military official says torture does not work. But still, they insist that it’s all right to use torture on prisoners. That it’s all right to kidnap suspects and whisk them off to a country that will really do a good job of torture. That it’s all right to not abide by our laws and respect the Geneva Convention and other international obligations. All these ideas are un-American and not all right. They drag us down to the level of those we are fighting, and they are certainly not the down-the-middle-of-the-road course a majority of Americans prefer. This extremism rejects more than 200 years of American laws and traditions.
Mimicking the views of national right-wing extremists, some now try to convince us that a new proposed law designed to help local law enforcement with technical, forensic, prosecutorial, and other federal assistance with existing state laws when it appears the crime was motivated by hate based on “race, color, religion, national origin, gender, sexual
orientation, gender identity, or disability of the victim” somehow prevents us from protecting our family from pedophiles? Boy! That’s a stretch of facts and logic! It appears they have not taken the time to even read the proposed new law and have not noticed that state laws against rape, child abuse, homicide, and other crimes against children are still on the books.
The Local Law Enforcement Hate Crimes Prevention Act of 2009 has absolutely nothing to do with pedophiles and will actually strengthen local law enforcement’s hand in dealing with all state crimes, including those dealing with children. In some rural areas of our nation, this assistance is not only welcome, but desperately needed.
In addition to not bothering to read the proposed law, these extremists also do not bother to check in the dictionary, because pedophilia and sexual orientation have two distinct meanings and are not interchangeable, as they argue. Courts in our country use the common meaning of words when applying statutes, and as such this new proposed law doesn’t have a snowball’s chance in a frying pan of protecting pedophiles.
It is this unthinking extremism that is changing the political landscape in America today. It’s enlarging the ranks of those who now consider themselves Independents and Democrats, and it will continue to do so as long as we hear views nationally and locally based on arguments of fear and hysteria rather than sound facts and logic. Down the middle of the road trumps extremism any day of the week. Whether it’s left-wing extremism of the ’60s or right-wing extremism of today, whether it’s local or national—it is all bad for America. Americans can do without the merchants of hate, fear, and hysteria. America has a proud tradition and history of constantly expanding the bounds of equality and personal freedom. Only through rejecting the temptations of extremist rhetoric can we continue freedom’s march! m
Ken McCalip is a north county native who holds bachelor and doctorate degrees in history, cultural geography, and law from various California universities. He can be reached at foxmt.one@verizon.net.
This article appears in Jul 9-16, 2009.