The Politics of FEAR – somehow, I’m not scared.
- By Chad
“Fear is the opposite of faith”
I believe political neutrality is vital to objective reasoning when it comes to political decisions we make. Too many Latter-Day Saints don’t really side with the church on political neutrality (not that the church has asked for that) and most of their loyalties lie within the Republican party. Sometimes saying anything contrary to the Republican or Democratic party automatically puts you in the “if you’re not with us, then you’re against us” category. I think getting sucked into the extremely divisive precepts of each party is dangerous, but especially right now, I want to tackle the Republican party, since most LDS, in Utah and other places, are affiliated with them.
Obama got a few more votes than past Democrats in this state, but the margin was still quite large. It’s not surprising, but I think some of the thought behind the decision to vote for McCain instead of Obama is wrong.
An NBC News exit poll showed 20% of Americans are concerned, and 24% are scared. On the flip side 24% were optimistic and 30% were excited. Where do you lie? And what drew you to that conclusion?
Certainly many conservative moral principles that are held by myself and other Latter-Day Saints are within the Republican party, but not all of them. The Church said that good can be found in both parties, and I believe that.
So, if you voted for McCain, was it out of hope and faith for what he could accomplish, or was it out of fear and concern over what Obama might do to this country? Fear and Faith will often lead us to action, but faith leads us to the right action where fear will often take us the wrong route.
I think in the last general conference there was a lot discussed on faith, and hope, and looking forward to the future without despair or discouragement. I think, in contrast, this political contest was filled with a lot of the same “politics of fear” that we are used to, but it’s been worse than I have ever seen it, and it’s almost been one sided.
Here’s how “Politics of Fear” works:
Political races draw a lot on emotion, and they play heavily on the fact that politics have virtually the same effect as cocaine on the brain. But the details are “boring” to the general public. Few people want to watch a documentary, but people love to see dramatic recreations. I don’t want to hear your boring details on recovering the economy, I want to hear the dramatic effect the economy is having. There is little logic and a ton of emotion that goes into politics because logic doesn’t excite passions. Hope in change was really on Obama’s side because of the fear all of us are already experiencing. Most people want change and will cling to that. McCain didn’t have that luxury. He had to battle that, and the greatest thing to oppose hope is fear. Obama had a great potential story – the first black man to be elected president. That is some pathos that’s hard for Repubs to overcome. But fear could take it away. Fear draws the opposing emotion. Fear of the unknown is perfect in Obama’s case. Take it. Run with it.
I, along with many other people I know, were grateful that it wasn’t Hillary Clinton in the White House – but it wasn’t because Hillary was getting smeared over and over by Obama that she lost, it’s because we knew what she was like and Democrats didn’t like it. Yet, she used “fear” against Obama, and this is where the “fear” tactics began and it shifted into the Republican party full speed. I would watch the two campaigns closely. I would watch the speeches and the debates. I would listen to the analysis of both parties on MSNBC and FOX News for a little balance. I saw the same things. This is what I saw:
There seemed to be an 80/20 rule with the campaigns. With Obama’s it was 80% hope and 20% fear: Mostly fear of having another 4 years like the last 8, and a little Keating 5, and Palin becoming president fear. With McCain it was 80% fear and 20% hope (at best). I’m not going to fault McCain on all of it. There were some things that were off limits and he stuck to it, for the most part. Obama’s lack of military experience and Jeremiah Wright were two things off limits. But the other things he brought up such as this fear of his past associations and fears of socialism ended up creating a monster that quickly got out of control. All of a sudden people took hold of that fear and ran with it. The Republican base that he was appealing to with those tactics was embarrassing and sickening, yet it worked for the most part. Emails about Obama’s “terrorist ties” and his “Marxism/Communism” and him being “Muslim”, as if that was a dirty word, were rampant. They’ve drug Obama’s name and character through the mud, calling him a “Terrorist” and “Baby Killer”. I heard that over and over from several different Republicans. When you looked at the rallies the two parties held, one the atmosphere was positive and hopeful, the other was angry and doubtful. Shouts of “Kill him!” were heard, people talking about how mad they were and how scared they were from the McCain rallies. McCain, to his credit, did try to stop some of this near the end, but it was already out of control.
McCain lost. I think he lost graciously. I thought his speech was well written and positive. He looked visibly embarrassed and upset when hearing the boos and jeers when mentioning Obama and unifying behind him. I think he knows that it got out of hand. It’s hard to create so much doubt and fear in the minds of people and then turn around afterword and say, “Well, I lost, oh well, let’s get behind this guy and support him during his presidency”, when people are already afraid of the man because of the political race you ran. If you actually believed any of those things, wouldn’t you say, “America, we should be concerned”, after losing?
I don’t know if the Republicans really stepped back and saw this. Some I have talked to saw it clearly. You know what the Republicans reminded me of? The Anti-Mormons from past to present. They would accuse Joseph Smith of being a terrorist, they would point out his “charisma” as a characteristic of satan. Charisma can be both a positive and a negative attribute that should never be used as an identifier of a person’s goodness or darkness. The fear tactics and smears that the Republicans were shouting from the rooftops reminded me of the fear tactics and smears – the twists of truth into lies – that Anti-Mormons are known for doing. I’m sure many of these extreme right-wing evangelical “Christians” took a page out of that same book for this campaign and it showed. Yet, as Latter-Day Saints, who have been subject to this kind of rhetoric since the Church was formed, how many of us bought into it? How many got sucked into the same fear that has been used against us for so long?
Phil, who writes for Utah voices, did bring up a good point that stuck with me. Mitt Romney was rejected by the Republican party for very similar reasons. He was a victim of this himself and it just carried over. Most people honestly believe he would have won because the economy was such a hot topic. I think if it was Romney or Ron Paul, this campaign would have had a different tone and Republicans may have retained the white house. But the psychos of the Republican party got loose. Romney wasn’t rejected because of his politics or his lack of qualifications vs McCain, he got rejected because he wasn’t “Christian” enough for the party’s base. We can analyze more later, but Huckabee really set that fire and stayed in the race long enough to make sure Romney got out. How should you feel about your undying loyalty to the party that rejects you for not being “Christian” enough? How should you feel about those same people who use the same tactics and methods against Obama, who usually took the high road during the campaign?
Now we can introduce the debate of Democrat vs Republican here, but as far as I’m concerned, neither party has the capacity or capability to really make positive change in this country. I have faith in my Church, I have little to none in our politics. Obama doesn’t concern me any more than McCain did – Obama actually concerns me less. For all the whacked out, psycho, extreme, obnoxious nut jobs that the far-left has – Obama didn’t seem to attract those people to his rallies. If he did, they were tame. On the other hand, it seems like the whacked out, psycho, extreme, obnoxious nut jobs the far-right has, which I never really thought were as many until now, sure were at the McCain rallies in droves. Their ignorance and fear-mongering spread like wildfire and created an even wider gulf between the two parties in this nation. This division is the opposite of unity, that fear is the opposite of faith, and that behavior is opposite of a Latter-Day Saint.
Weather you agree with the Democratic positions on anything, or not, is beside the point in this. After all, there were three states that had pro-family initiatives on the ballot this election, all three states voted in favor of marriage between a man and a woman. The two largest of those three states, Florida and California, also voted for Obama. Maybe this country isn’t set to go to “Hell in a hand-basket” quite yet, after all.
I don’t think Obama is as bad as you may believe. I think he is a good person with a sincere heart. Maybe I’ve been duped. Time will tell, of course, but maybe we should try to have a little faith instead of fear. Maybe change, in this case, is a good thing. What’s the worse that could happen? The economy tanks, we spend our means warring in foreign lands, we lose our homes and our jobs? Too late, people. Let’s give this a shot for 4 years and if it continues the downward spiral, maybe the extreme right-wing will wake up, get practical and put Mitt Romney or Ron Paul on the ticket.
“Fear is the path to the darkside. Fear leads to anger, anger leads to hate, hate leads to suffering.”
Need I say more.
“When you looked at the rallies the two parties held, one the atmosphere was positive and hopeful, the other was angry and doubtful. Shouts of “Kill him!” were heard, people talking about how mad they were and how scared they were from the McCain rallies. McCain, to his credit, did try to stop some of this near the end, but it was already out of control.”
Chad, this is not the rallies I was at! I am not saying someone did not do that at any point; you make it sound like it was nature of the whole campaign! As a McCain campaigner it is just not the case… I find your article very disturbing, you are watching too much of the media smear toward McCain. The first thing I did was get in contact with my democratic friends and congratulate them. I made sure my Liberal Teachers knew I felt Obama put together a great campaign, another teacher that knew of my campaign commitments in different states likes to joke with me and last knight instead of writing down van Gogh with other painters he wrote Obama, he said smiling “that was for Aros”. I took the time to make sure the class knew that I will rally behind our new president. If you were with me Monday night, you would have felt proud of John McCain for the long fight and patriotism. I think you would have had an aesthetic moment, if you believe the rallies were out of control and full of fear! There was nothing more than the issues of little experience and liberal view of Obama sent out. In fact I have never been more proud of my country as he confirmed to me that he was closest to my principles and beliefs. Now, to bring the church into this is very disconcerting, I feel like you are stepping in a direction the will force more separation from the most emotional in the two parties! I am not sure what message you really wanted to send, but it seems to be quite harsh. I do not believe it represents me or any of the hundred or so I worked with on the campaign. OK, maybe one or two, but people don’t care to listen to them anyway!
Thanks for the comment, Aros – your perspective as a McCain campaigner is appreciated. I know full well the media leans left. I do try to see the slants that Fox News is taking and what they report on. Both sides seemed to focus on the same slants, you got more “hope” from the liberal media, and you still got more “fear” from Fox news, especially in the last couple weeks. I’m not saying there can’t be good campaigners and good rallies, which I’m sure you were apart of, but you weren’t the base that McCain was appealing to, you weren’t in a battleground state (except when you went to Colorado), and though most people at the rallies were probably respectful, the “Politics of Fear” did bring out the worst in some of those people. I think it’s wrong on both sides of the fence, but I saw it worse with the Republicans this time around.
I don’t know how bringing the Church into it would create more separation. My point with bringing the Church into it was to show how the Church preaches unity and the very nature of the Democrats and Republicans is division, and as such, the more we align ourselves with those parties, the more we support the divisive tactics of each. I am concerned that too many Mormons blindly follow the Republicans – some who even think your temple recommend should be stripped if you vote Dem – and are incapable of stepping back and realizing that neutrality really does promote unbiased, clear judgment. You see, I can support Obama 80%, McCain 40%, Prop 8 100%, Socialized Medicine 50%, Gun Control 1% (at best), etc. because I don’t have a party’s propaganda telling me how I should feel about issues. I use my own judgment largely influenced by my own experiences and faith.
I also brought up the Church because I thought it was unbecoming of members to spread the “fear” like I was hearing. And, yes, seeing videos you posted was a part of that. Little, if any, had to do with McCain’s experience and vision, most were attacking Obama and putting doubt and fear into those who watched them. If you TRULY believed any of that, I don’t know how you could rally behind him as President. I know I couldn’t if I really believed it, and if you don’t believe it, why spread it?
I did enjoy your thoughts, but I’m afraid that your support for Obama is based on the simple transparency of campaign basics. Things were going badly, so of course he spoke of CHANGE. Of course he spoke of HOPE. But to be honest with you, I felt his campaign was amazingly similar to Pedro’s on Napolean Dynamite.
“If you vote for me, all of your wildest dreams will come true.” Only, instead of bringing a holy santos to guard the white house, he’ll want a statue of himself…since, he is “the One.”
Politics aside, it was fun to read your perspectives. I hope you’re doing great.
Melanie, I like the idea of “all your wildest dreams will come true”! I would have voted for Pedro, too. I don’t have much faith in my government anyway, so I’d rather have them stroke my sense of ‘hope’ than my already established ‘fear’. I don’t want to hear more reasons to fear this man who really runs with the message of hope in change. Even if the hope comes up empty, I like to hear it, I like to chase it. The Repubs should learn their lesson from this and maybe run on the ‘hope’ platform next time. He’s our next president weather we like it or not, and he may be plotting with his friends to turn America into a communist country and will burn the constitution on national TV and declare himself emperor, but you can’t fault the people who voted for him following a message of hope. Never underestimate the “Infinite Power of Hope” (Elder Uchtdorf) http://www.lds.org/conference/talk/display/0,5232,23-1-947-7,00.html
Regan ran on that ‘hope’ – there are some similarities to Regan and Obama that Phil wrote about in “Death of an Ideology” http://utahvoices.com/the-death-of-an-ideology/
Just like you ‘hope’ I’m doing great, and I hope you’re doing great, too!
Thanks for the comment!!!