"Politics Has Always Been A Contact Sport"
That's what Pulitzer-winning syndicated columnist, Leonard Pitts, Jr., said about politics in America when he spoke to a group of newspaper editors (and me) in New Orleans on Friday. He quoted a litany of political insults, including Teddy Roosevelt's referring to Taft as a "fathead" with "brains less than a guinea pig." I wish I could remember some of the others. His personal favorite was a takeoff, by LBJ's camp, on Goldwater's campaign line, "In your heart, you know he's right"...which became "In your guts you know he's nuts."
So why is it, Pitts wondered, that people in America suddenly seem more politically divided than ever? He doesn't think the majority of people in America actually are hard right or hard left, drawing on then (?80s?) and now Gallup polls for comparison. (Most scary of these was the one where he noted the percentage of people who think gay sex should be legal. No, he wasn't even talking gay marriage, but people who, very generously, would allow other consenting adults the right to have sex with whichever other consenting adults they so desire. I can't remember the exact number he said, but maybe it was 52%? Boy, are we a backward, Puritanical nation.)
But, back to the environment of political divisiveness, which he blames on the "all news all the time" media, where you "have to shout to get attention," and noted that "it's impossible to shout and be heard at the same time." He was most peeved about the temptation to label everyone either "left" or "right"; an oversimplification he calls "bumper-sticker mentality." He attacked sleazy liars like Michael Moore and Ann Coulter, who appeal to the lowest common denominator by "painting a picture of the nation that is not the nation," and caricaturing an argument until it's not the argument at all, then attacking the caricature. It's "loud and simplistic extremism that sheds more heat than light." I'm with you all the way, Mr. Pitts.
Pitts talked about how Reagan used to have Democratic Speaker Of The House Tip O'Neill over for drinks. How civilized...and how hard to imagine now. I'm adding Pitts to my list of what I call "common-sense moderates" like Matt Welch and Cathy Young. I asked Pitts for other columnists he felt fit the same bill. David Broder, William Raspberry, Clarence Page, and Cathy Parker were the ones he named.
This escalating extremism is not only political, but can be witnessed in culture clash, gender clash, class clash (okay, just threw that one in for fun). I do my own investing, so spend mucho time looking at technical charts. Looking back over my lifetime, I can visualize a chart of extremist waves that would show this to be just another bull market of many historical highs and lows. The most recent in my memory was the Carter days of high interest rates, oil shortages and price hikes, stagflation, and the first big mideastern hostage crisis. Lots of fear and loathing in the air back then. Then Reagan came in and things simmered down gradually leading to the Clinton days of boom-boom. Hard to be extremist when you are making more money than you ever had. Your stocks are screaming winners. And the only thing in the news is Monica. Too bad about that Yugoslavia mess, but what'd the market do today?
The reason I bring all this up is to point out that even though global fear, hate, contempt, envy, and negativity are pushing the wave of political extremism to the upper levels of the chart, I hope this is nothing but the final flame out of the latest extremism wave. Think back to the final peaking in 1999 before the stock market crash of 2000. Or the current real estate bubble. Oops, did anyone just buy a bubble inflated house? Sorry. You'll be okay in a decade or two.
Like any wave there will be a topping and a reversal. Talking intermediate and long term here, not next November election results. We muddled past the '70's crises, and we'll probably muddle through all this, too. Eventually we should see a different set of factors deflating the extremists' base of strength and putting into motion a wave of opportunity and global hope. New energy sources, different countries as economic leaders, new rich people and new poor people.
Humans...weird animals we are. Lemmings with brains. Just look how the polarized folks are so convinced their side is right and honest, whereas the other guys are lying creeps. Except when you want sex from them. Extremism can be put on hold for the juicily important things in life. Go Justice Scalia.
To me the current US political extremism of fear and contempt is nutshelled nicely by polls that show many, if not most of us, are going to vote against someone or something.
allan at October 2, 2004 10:57 AM