Jeff Ward: Demonizing the Opposition Only Diminishes You!
So stop it! From Batavia to Clarendon Hills, Western Springs to Lisle, Patchland folks are as guilty as anybody in Washington.
Bill Maher recently came up with one of the most brilliant comedic commentary bits I’ve ever seen. You can watch it yourself here forearmed with the knowledge that the language (no F-bombs) might not be for everyone.
Maher essentially answered has-been rocker Ted Nugent’s assertion that President Obama leads a “vile, evil America-hating administration that’s wiping its (bleep) with the Constitution.”
“If Obama were as radical as they claim,” Maher replied, “here’s what he would’ve already done. Pulled the troops out of Afghanistan, given us Medicare for all, ended the drug war, cut the defense budget in half, and turned Dick Cheney over to The Hague.”
Maher went on to point out that the president had cut taxes and presided over the smallest growth in federal spending going back to and including the Reagan administration. He didn’t break up the too-big-to-fail banks, oversaw a historic increase in the number of oil rigs, and corporate profits are at record highs.
“If he’s a socialist, he’s a lousy one,” Maher quipped.
Then he said something that really hit me: “This isn’t about what Obama is, it’s about what you need him to be, because hating him is what gets you up in the morning.”
Before you hit the submit button, this is not meant to be a referendum on Bill Maher. Again, I like him because his show hosts folks from both sides of the aisle, and he understands that political sentiment goes both ways. I never bought into the bilge that George W. Bush was inherently evil; I just thought he wasn’t very bright.
And the phenomenon Maher so aptly described, demonizing the other side, goes way beyond Washington. Take one short look around you and you’ll see that Patchland is rife with this kind of take-no-prisoners mentality.
We’ll start with Glen Ellyn, where the fracas over the installation of lights at Glenbard West’s Memorial Field rose to the level of a local Civil War. And the casualties, measured in lost friendships, goodwill and reputations, are almost as horrific as the real thing.
I’m sure Glen Ellyn Patch Editor Samantha Liss is still typing the sentence, “This comment has been removed for violating the terms of use” in her sleep.
Though Batavia is sedate by comparison, the uncompromising uproar over an updated Walgreens and McDonald's has been outright baffling. I guess when the downtown stakes are that low, people feel the need to get nutty about it.
In Clarendon Hills, it’s the prospect of home rule. A group calling themselves Citizens for Clarendon Hills managed to turn a fairly factual issue into an ugly debate by openly questioning the obviously nefarious motives of the Village Board.
Ain’t it funny how these groups that have the word “for” in their title are never actually “for” anything?
Then there’s this one! In a bizarre Dr. Strangelove-esque turn, the folks in Western Springs turned the clock back to 1955 when, I kid you not, they bitterly debated the merits of fluoridated water.
As I like to say, some of you have way too much time on your hands.
My own Geneva is by no means exempt. In fact, they’re particularly adept at the gotcha game.
There’s the group of homeowners who claim an influx of godless mountain bikers means the advent of the anti-Christ, there was an absurd and unnecessary battle over a downtown bike race, and we have an anti-school board group whose generally childish behavior makes Veruca Salt look really good.
And speaking of school boards, in Downers Grove, it’s actually that District 99 body that believes the only way you can bury the hatchet is if you do it in each other’s heads. If our local governing bodies can’t set an example, then what hope is there for the rest of us?
Ah! But the winner of the "2012 Rufus T. Firefly Whatever it Is, I’m Against it Award" has to be Lisle, where those folks have gone toe-to-toe over the impending Navistar plant, an ultimately-denied bus terminal, a technical school’s pending special use permit and an attempt to de-annex from the Park District.
The sad thing is, in every one of the above life-and-death cases, the content of the opposition’s character became more important than the ready exchange of thoughts and ideas, which is ultimately necessary for the survival of any healthy democracy.
So I scoured the Net in an attempt to learn why these contentious individuals, who generally claim to be the proud proprietors of truth, justice and the American way, would be willing to destroy the process just to get their way.
But I didn’t find a satisfactory explanation, so I came up with one of my own.
I believe this damn-the-ethical-debate-torpedoes, full-character-assassination-speed-ahead mentality has become so popular because it absolves us from having to think, come up with a rational facts-based case, and having to take responsibility for our own lives.
There seems to be this growing cultural notion that our own sad plight is always the result of some nefarious “other” and, purely in our self defense, we must completely destroy our foes to assure our own elusive happiness.
The problem is, always pressing the attack never eases that internal pain, and these superficial people simply move from target to target with no concern for the infliction of intentional and collateral damage. When they run out of enemies, they simply self-destruct.
What the demonizers don’t realize is, in the end, their tactic not only diminishes the debate, but it diminishes the diminisher. It certainly follows the law of diminishing returns, because bodies like the Lisle Planning Commission have gotten so fed up with the demonizing process, they changed the rules to avoid those unnecessary detours.
The truth is, the debate isn’t about you, it’s about all of us.
Here’s the thing, if you don’t like the president’s policies, that’s fine. I voted for him and, until very recently, he’s been off my Christmas card list for a long time. But if you’re going to disagree with his policies, then give me a rational reason for why you made that choice.
Don’t tell me he wasn’t born here, because as Maher also said, “We haven’t lost our freedoms! I’m pretty sure the only things Obama has killed are Bin-Laden and Donald Trump’s last shred of dignity.”
Editor's note: Memorial Field is located at Glenbard West High School in Glen Ellyn not Glenbard South. Patch has corrected the mistake.
joan linden
5:31 am on Friday, June 22, 2012
I agree. A rational debate on politics is a thing of the past. The "hate" comments are thrown out there as "gospel" truths and often are factually wrong. It is impossible to talk or debate political subjects because facts are ignored. Thanks for the article.
Jeff Ward
5:47 am on Friday, June 22, 2012
Joan,
No problem! But I think it's gonna take a lot more than this column to calm the debate!
Jeff
Rudy
7:18 am on Friday, June 22, 2012
Nice piece Jeff I think the problem is that we all have it so good we have to invent crap to bitch about. I also agree with you on another point Obama isn't even a good socialist is there nothing a president can't screw up! Speaking of spewing hate what’s Bob McQ. opinion on this as his is the only one that TRULY matters!
Colin C.
7:48 am on Friday, June 22, 2012
Excellent column and those who hate it may well be the ones we are talking about.
But demonizing to irrational hate is as old, no, maybe older than humans. Watching some debates reminds me more of the "Chimpanzee Island" at the zoo or an average middle school cafeteria than anything else.
Actually, a lot of human behavior reminds me of a Jane Goodall documentary.
It is said that we share some 98% of our DNA with Chimps. While we are obviously, technically superior to all other species it's too bad we can't seem to do better in the social areas.
One species that we might try more to emulate are Bonobos. They seem to settle social disputes and tensions with sex instead of conflict. Sometimes several times an hour!
Maybe they are too tired to fight.
Tina Tuszynski
7:54 am on Friday, June 22, 2012
Nice piece, Jeff! Also, with the proliferation of the internet, people begin to see each other in such monolithic terms: we are so much more than a "liberal" or a "conservative". People have so much more common ground than they allow themselves to believe. But the in-fighting between groups serves the politicians' purposes, as we fight amongst ourselves they are getting richer and less motivated to do anything to help our country. They all are both sides of the same coin lately.
I do enjoy Bill Maher as well - he is one of the few commentators that will host intelligent guests with different opinions. And there's usually good discourse that arises.
Jeff Ward
8:14 am on Friday, June 22, 2012
Tina,
That's a really good point. Though folks love to hit me with the "L" word, I'm actually liberal on social issues, but very conservative when int comes to taking personal responsibility.
Jeff
Martha Hanna
7:58 am on Friday, June 22, 2012
Real Time and Politically Incorrect....Politics and humor the perfect combination!
Jim Ozog
8:55 am on Friday, June 22, 2012
As one of those accused of "hating" the children of Glen Ellyn during the Memorial Lights hearings, thank you for your comments. In my view, however, the so-called "civil war" was for the most part a spirited and informed discussion among the community. While there were some targeted insults posted on the Patch, in the end the vast majority of those involved walked out of the room as neighbors and friends.
Kate
9:26 am on Friday, June 22, 2012
“The lie that brought us into war was that Iraq was a threat to us....It was an attempt at a corporate takeover. This was about oil. It wasn’t about human rights. It’s not about human rights....It is the Bush/Cheney cartel’s fault....Team Bush is more radically corrupt than Richard Nixon ever tried to be....It is, in fact, a conspiracy of the 43rd Reich.”
– Left-wing activist/comedienne Janeane Garofalo on CNN’s Crossfire August 20, halfway through her week as the show’s guest co-host. [59] Janeane Garofalo
“Being a man, I’ve got to say that we’ve got this guy in the White House who thinks he is a man, you know, who projects himself as a man because he has a certain masculinity, and he’s a good old boy, and he used to drink, and he knows how to shoot a gun and how to drive a pickup truck, et cetera, like that. That’s not the definition of a man, God dammit!”
– Actor Ed Harris speaking at a January 21 NARAL Pro-Choice America banquet televised on C-SPAN. [43]
Craig Kilborn: “Use the words ‘compassionate’ and ‘conservative’ in the same sentence while being neither ironic nor scornful.”
Actor/activist Tim Robbins: “That’s a tough one. Neither ironic nor scornful?”
Kilborn: “Yeah.”
Robbins: “Alright. F*** compassionate conservatives!”
– Exchange in “5 Questions” segment on CBS’s Late Late Show, October 30. CBS bleeped the F-word. [38]
And then there was Michael Moore -- sanctimony.
Jim Ryan
10:51 am on Friday, June 22, 2012
Well put, Kate, although I think you only understood one half of Jeff's piece.
Let's not forget that the person in the White House now is a socialist, a Marxist, a Nazi, a communist, a tyrant, a Muslim, a Kenyan, someone who wipes his a** with the Constitution (thanks, Ted) and wants to destroy our way of life.
My footnote to the above would be talk radio, a certain cable network and the likes of the Joe Walsh (not the talented one).
Tony Pronenko
10:01 am on Friday, June 22, 2012
Great piece Jeff,
Over the years I have come face to face with people and/or "groups" who instead of giving rational reasons for their actions or why they oppose something, would much rather change the rules than abide by them. It is a sad state of affairs indeed when you cannot count on the common sense of your fellow man (or woman), but you can surely count on ignorance.
bobrzik
10:45 am on Friday, June 22, 2012
"Not very bright" is a frequent lib insult.
Colin C.
12:26 pm on Friday, June 22, 2012
There have been many valid studies that tend to show that "average" people who self identify as socially conservative have less education and more dismissive of proven facts than those who self identify as socially progressive.
Magazines that summarize peer reviewed journal articles including Science, Scientific American, and Discover have published several articles on these studies in the last five years.
Justin Eggar
12:12 am on Saturday, June 23, 2012
Colin - you don't have to have a education to be bright. Perhaps it would benefit you to study some of the most famous and /or rich people in the world.
If you'd like I can make a more pointed example of what your utilizing education = intelligence means in the real world example. You might not like the point you are making though.
Let me take the bait though. What proven facts are these people dismissing?
Jeff Ward
11:49 am on Friday, June 22, 2012
No, It's a statement of fact. Much like being 6 feet tall is.
Jeff
Colin C.
1:20 pm on Friday, June 22, 2012
Jeff.
You mentioned the dust-up over Campton Hills as an example. I am always reminded of the invective hurled at people by those who opposed the construction of the Kane County Jail at the corner of Rt.38 and Peck. That got incredibly nasty and personal. Of course, the new jail would ruin property values and escaped and released prisoners would pillage the community and rape local residents.
I'm not aware of any of that actually happening yet, but there is always hope.
Ray
1:36 pm on Friday, June 22, 2012
Jeff, are you sure you didn't write all these things because you HATE AMERICA? ;)
Jeff Ward
1:43 pm on Friday, June 22, 2012
Ray,
You caught me! Well that and I just can't help myself.
Jeff
Brian Doyle
4:39 pm on Friday, June 22, 2012
I keep coming back to James Madison's observations in Federalist #10 that "the latent causes of faction are ... sown in the nature of man; and we see them everywhere brought into different degrees of activity, according to the different circumstances of civil society" (http://www.constitution.org/fed/federa10.htm).
This was as true in the late 18th century as it is today.
Lisle WatchDog
5:23 pm on Friday, June 22, 2012
There was actually a paid PR effort to "demonize" and smear the individuals who opposed Navistar's proposed industrial diesel engine testing in Lisle. Tax dollars were used to lobby elected officials for approvals to grant over 2 dozen variances the worst of which would have required a Title V air emissions permit to kick out diesel exhaust pollution. The PR campaign would have cost a bit more today than it did a couple years ago now that the International Agency for Research on Cancer has determined that diesel exhaust is a class 1 human carcinogen and is definately known to cause cancer.
Maria
5:43 pm on Friday, June 22, 2012
From Western Springs to Lisle, Batavia to Glen Ellyn and Clarendon Hill, we have the same problem we have in Springfield and Washington - arrogant elected officials who think they have "power" and have completely forgotten that they represent "The People". Becuase of this, "The People" have to constantly remind them that we live in a democracy.
Justin Eggar
12:24 am on Saturday, June 23, 2012
Jeff,
I'm curious, are you referring to your constant demonizing of those that don't hold your political views... Or are we talking about something else here?
Maher is junkl. Saying "this is what gets you up in the morning" is utter garbage. Most Americans are just tring to pay their bills, and aside from our ever increasing national debt a good many Americans could care less.
In what world can you reference a tool like Maher who demonizes anybody that doesn't believe like he does (and attacks them incessantly) and then try and make a point about rational dialogue. C'mon Jeff, your delicious cooking at 60 Men Who Cook still won't allow me to grant you that kind of intellectual variance.
Mouse
12:40 am on Saturday, June 23, 2012
You want to really know the cause? Talk radio and FOX News. They have proven that there are $billions to be made by lowering yourself to the bottom of the barrel and attempting to drag everyone else there too. So now we're a gaggle of me-too parrots. It's disgusting.
Justin Eggar
12:44 am on Saturday, June 23, 2012
Mouse - are you suggesting that the cause is "the others guys"? Because I heard them say the same thing.
Mouse
10:20 am on Saturday, June 23, 2012
Justin, what "others guys"? Did you read what I wrote? The business of political babble for profit is huge (check out what your favorite media mouth makes if you don't believe me)and the easiest way to continue raking in the hundreds of $millions is to foment fake controversy, name-call and in some cases outright lie on-air every day. There is no money in constructive discourse or the truth. It's a repeat of the newspaper industry's fit of yellow journalism over 100 years ago.
Here's what Frank Luther Mott described as yellow journalism's five characteristics:
Frank Luther Mott (1941) defines yellow journalism in terms of five characteristics:
1) scare headlines in huge print, often of minor news
2) lavish use of pictures, or imaginary drawings
3) use of faked interviews, misleading headlines, pseudoscience, and a parade of false learning from so-called experts
4) emphasis on full-color Sunday supplements, usually with comic strips
5) dramatic sympathy with the "underdog" against the system.
In today's electronic "news" media you have ALL of these back in use. #4 and #5 have morphed into, respectively, animated primary-color background graphics (usually red white and blue for obvious reasons) and the laughable insistence that the talkers are not part of the "mainstream media" when they are all owned by the largest media corporations on the planet.
Nothing has changed, and you're being played for profit.
Justin Eggar
8:24 pm on Saturday, June 23, 2012
Yes - I read what you wrote. Fox news and talk radio. However, there are a ton more news stations that are guilty of this (not just Fox). Truth is the media is horribly biased and you are guaranteed that any time they push something as a fact that the primary fact involved is that it has their own spin on it.
My point wasn't that ou're wrong - its that everybody likes to say the other team is guilty of it while ignoring their own.
Mouse
9:06 pm on Saturday, June 23, 2012
Clearly you didn't understand what I wrote then. Fox News and talk radio proved the market. Now there are dozens of carnival barkers (on both "teams") chumming the water in hope of creating false controversy for profit. Personally I don't have a "team" here because I don't consider the future of this country a "sport".
It's time to end the game.
Justin Eggar
9:29 pm on Saturday, June 23, 2012
Everybody has a team, whether they admit it to themselves or not. As to political babble, it's been around for ages. Fox is unlikely an originator in that. Unless you are suggesting that the concept of profit via false controversy is a new one.
Dan
10:39 pm on Saturday, June 23, 2012
Mouse were you thinking about global warming when you compared this list to today? Scare headlines in huge print. Lavish use of pictures or imaginary drawings. Parade of false learning from so-called experts.... A good way to demonize the other side might be to call them a name say deniers. Yeah you guys are on to something. I think were just being played for the sake of profits!
Mouse
11:38 pm on Saturday, June 23, 2012
No, I was mostly thinking about sheep like you, Dan. And maybe Glenn Beck.
Jimmy
1:44 am on Saturday, June 23, 2012
"Jeff Ward: Demonizing the Opposition Only Diminishes You!" How ironic! ward is now lecturing US about demonizing the opposition. This is the same "columnist" who in an April 2011 Batavia Patch opinion article implied that Tea Party activists, fiscally-conservative Americans and many MILLIONS of other Americans are racists for demonstrably disagreeing with and loudly protesting against obama's irreparably-destructive, nanny-state, entitlement-demanding, welfare-mentality, redistribution-of-wealth policies. Writing about these vocal dissenters (Tea Party assemblies) and, to a lesser extent, their incredibly influential sway at the ballot box (November 2010 elections), ward attempted to marginalize their agenda, impact and legitimacy by asserting their uproar was less a spirited objection over obama's policies, but was actually much more a vile objection over obama's skin shade. The following is a quote from ward's April 2011 article: "You see, whether you like it or not, that kind of effort takes hard work and it's far easier to attack a black president instead." Because of this nonsensical and ludicrous assertion (and from many of his other asinine assertions), my opinion of ward could not get any worse. Unless, of course, ward just happens to be one of those bicyclists who wears the gay-ish, skintight, multicolored, look-at-me, bicycle attire.
Jeff Ward
5:35 am on Saturday, June 23, 2012
And so my point is proven beyond a shadow of a doubt!
Kyle
6:00 pm on Monday, June 25, 2012
Dear Jimmy,
I have great news for you my friend! There are a few functional aspects of wearing tight, breathable fabrics while riding a bicycle, besides being more comfortable. For one, it's safer to have minimal loose fabric flopping around the machinery that carries your body through traffic. Minimal flopping fabric also creates minimal drag/wind resistance, which leads to a more efficient ride. Also, we have discovered that multicolored 'look at me' attire assists in -get this- making one more visible to motorists or other pedestrians. You know, for safety. So please, before you make a bad joke about things you obviously know nothing about, take a minute to check yourself before you wreck yourself.
Hugs,
Your "Gay-ish" Neighbor
Edward Andersen
7:52 am on Saturday, June 23, 2012
Having lived in Western Springs for twelve years, I am well aware of their water issues. Unlike the surrounding suburbs, Western Springs takes their water from deep well water not Lake Michigan. There has always been an undercurrent of residents, who want to switch to Lake Michigan water. The water had issues back in the 80s and 90s, but recent developments have now impacted people's appliances and drinking water. So, I don't quite see the author's point on the Western Springs water issue.
Mike
8:12 am on Saturday, June 23, 2012
Jeff and liberals like him, are like the bully in the schoolyard poking a boy with a stick. When the boy starts to fight back the bully cries foul and says " let's be civil" Fox news and talk radio continue to be a voice for half of America if not more. Traditional Americans who believe in limited government , individual freedom and personal responsibility are no longer sitting quiet..,.. And the libs can't stand it. " liberals want conservatives to stop talking.....conservatives want liberals to talk more"
Jeff Ward
8:42 am on Saturday, June 23, 2012
Mike,
I want less government too, but the truth is - as Maher pointed out - all the Republican presidents back to and including Reagan have run up government spending while the two democrats have not.
The most heavily taxed county in the country is Kendall County which is as Republican as it can possibly get.
If conservatives actually did more than just talk about less government, I'd be 100 percent behind them, but they don't.
Jeff
Meadowman
8:25 am on Saturday, June 23, 2012
Studies done by liberals always conclude that liberals are more intelligent than non-liberals.
Kate
10:39 am on Saturday, June 23, 2012
Jeff,
Presidents propose spending, but Congress approves it and adds to it. When Clinton was president, we had a Republican Congress. As for Kendall County, I don't know where you get your facts, but Lake County is the highest taxed county in the country; Cook County has the highest sales tax. And we don't need to look any further than Illinois to understanding government spending. Democrats have had the legislature and governor's office for more than a decade. Illinois is now the state in the Union with the highest debt and worst credit rating.
Mike
10:43 am on Saturday, June 23, 2012
Jeff,
I'm by no means going to defend current or past republicans because they are also part of the problem. But look at Illinois versus Indiana, Iowa, Wisconsin, New Jersey, Ohio all states run by CONSERVATIVES who are trying to get the fiscal house in order, and succeeding for the most part. The Conservative tea party movement was against all big government and the nanny state. At least get behind the party that "talks" about less government instead of the party that wants bigger government and more spending.
Also, using Bill Maher to make a point is a joke. Click the link bellow for refuting info.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:U.S._Total_Deficits_vs._National_Debt_Increases_2001-2010.png
http://blog.heritage.org/2012/05/24/the-truth-about-president-obamas-skyrocketing-spending/
You may also disagree with the source, but there are 2 sides to an argument.
Ned
5:55 pm on Saturday, June 23, 2012
Bill Maher - really? MAHER: CONSERVATISM NOT AN IDEOLOGY, ‘IT’S JUST ABOUT BEING A DxxK’ -
http://www.breitbart.com/Breitbart-TV/2012/06/23/Maher-Conservatism-is-not-ideology-%20just-about-being-adick
Colin C.
8:26 pm on Sunday, June 24, 2012
Justin,
Intelligence is largely inborn but without knowledge is pretty much useless. Knowledge comes from education, formal and informal. Neither equates with being famous or rich.
The studies that I mentioned worked with people who denied the validity of evolution, geology. cosmology, and other developed sciences. When those who professed disbelief of the scientifically proven facts in these and other subjects were presented with solid, factual information and then interviewed again months later the tendency was for their denial to actually increase in spite of the fact that they could not refute the evidence that they had been given. It would appear that they rejected what they had learned simply because it did not fit with their chosen world view. Thus they chose to believe myth over reality.
I think that most of us are prone to doing this to some extent but I also think that one should be open to that which oppose our preconceptions.
There is a wonderful scene at the end of the play “Inherit the Wind” where, having outdebated the William Jennings Bryant character on the subject of evolution vs creation, the Clarence Darrow character picks up copies of The Origin of Species and of the Bible, contemplates both, then puts them both back into his briefcase as equals, both worthy of study and understanding.
I think that we need to know the difference between fact and faith.