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| Former CIA director, John Brennan - an over the top critic of the President (NBC) |
Among them are his relationship with Israel; his restoration of sanctions on Iran; his appointees for the Supreme Court; his strengthening of the US economy (which has included the lowest unemployment figures in decades). It’s hard to overlook these polices. But at the same time the President’s behavior has not only enhanced the divisions between right and left, it has finally generated pure evil.
Extreme partisanship has replaced compromise. The ideals of each side have become so entrenched that the very word ‘compromise’ has become a dirty word. There is no such thing as finding common ground with one’s political opponents anymore. This is not to say that one should compromise their ideals. But there are instances where common ground can be found for the good of people. With ideals remaining relatively unscathed. This does not seem to happen anymore.
The atmosphere of public discourse has degenerated to the point where violence has reared its ugly head in a number of instances. Most recently with a spate of bombs being mailed to prominent Americans perceived to be enemies of the President. Like from some deranged fringe ideologue that supports the President.
The President’s rhetoric and behavior go way beyond criticism of entrenched ideals. They have generated violence on his behalf. This is not to say that the President endorses any of it. He obviously doesn’t. He has forcefully condemned it.
But it is impossible not to recognize who the targets of a recent spate of bomb mailings were. They were virtually all people or institutions that were severely criticized by the President. For example in the case of the mainstream media the President has called them the enemy of the people. With CNN singled out by the President as the worst offender.
In another example during the campaign for President, Trump said that his opponent, Hillary Clinton, should be locked up with respect to her e-mail controversy. ‘Lock her up’ became a familiar refrain during Trump’s campaign appearances.
When an institution is singled out as the enemy of the people, and a mainstream political opponent is cast as a criminal worthy of incarceration, is it any surprise that a deranged follower of the President on the extreme fringes of society would take action to destroy that enemy?
This question might have been considered hyperbole were it not for the fact that it actually happened. From the Washington Post:
Authorities found packages that appeared to contain pipe bombs addressed to former vice president Joe Biden and the actor Robert De Niro, officials said Thursday, setting off a new wave of alarm amid a sprawling investigation into pipe bombs mailed to prominent political figures and critics of President Trump.
The new packages, which resemble those sent to figures including former president Barack Obama and former secretary of state Hillary Clinton, were located in Delaware and New York. The discoveries mean that authorities have recovered nine similar packages as part of the investigation. Like the others, the latest packages were intercepted before reaching their intended targets.
I want to be absolutely clear here. The person that sent those bombs is fully responsible for his actions. This cannot be blamed on anyone else but him (or her). But to ignore the President’s personal attacks against all of that bomber’s targets is to ignore reality. As such he shares the responsibility for creating an atmosphere where a deranged supporter will actually do something about it!
I also want to be absolutely clear that there is some shared responsibility by at least some of those targets.
The criticism some of them have heaped over and over again against the President has been relentless. Not that he didn’t deserve most of it. He did. But that does not mean for example that the mainstream media (for example) should focus almost all their reportage on that - leaving his polices as a secondary concern. Especially when much of that criticism is given under the guise of reporting.
Another one of those targets, former CIA director John Brennan, has made some of the most derisive comments about the President one can imagine. He continually ramps up the hyperbole far beyond what I would consider fair criticism and has done so at every opportunity. He even did it again yesterday! His criticism may have had some merit, but it has always been way over the top in my view. I now discount just about every word Brennan says because of his obvious bias.
I can understand why Trump supporters would react viscerally to his critics. That said - in my view the President has the lion’s share of responsibility here.
Again, I want to emphasize that none of the President’s vile commentary against his opponents, nor the constant focus on the negative by the President’s opponents, merits the kind of response this terrorist had. That is plainly obvious. But it should not be ignored either.
If he would start behaving like a President instead of like a ‘Don Rickles’ wannabe at a comedy club, that might just end or at least diminish the push-back by those he has insulted. And it wouldn’t be the worst thing in the world if the media focused more on the President’s polices than they do on his rhetoric and behavior.
Unfortunately I don’t think either of those things will happen. Which probably means we might just see more behavior like this from people residing on the fringes of society.
Wise people should learn from their mistakes. Are there any wise people in the room?