Divisive Politics

During the 2008 election season, when it was narrowed down to McCain and Obama, commentators were mentioning how divided the nation was and how negative American politics had become.  It seems however that this Republican primary season has trumped 2008 as he most divisive in history, and it is all happening within the same party.  Newt Gingrich and Rick Santorum are fighting to be the conservative alternative to Mitt Romney, who continues to have trouble appealing to the conservative base.  Any attacks against Obama have been hyperbolic in nature, accusing the Obama administration of being socialist, radical, dangerous, and against small business.  Obama, a moderate centrist on most issues can hardly be considered radical compared to a right wing conservative, but that is beside the point. Buzzwords, negative ads, and harsh criticisms seem to dictate American politics, and recently Islamaphobia reared its ugly head once again at a Santorum campaign stop

Islamaphobia and politics have been linked since 9/11 and was at an all-time high during Obama’s election campaign.  He had to face a storm of criticism surrounding his upbringing, and erroneous stories of him being a Muslim.   Much of this talk regarding Islam was just disguised racism.  Now, four years after being elected it is clear that Obama has not convinced Americans that he is a Christian.  No other candidate in history has had to prove their religious affiliation, nor has any president been asked to provide his birth certificate.  However, Obama is black after all, and no matter what anyone says, if he was not black, there would be no debate about religion or place of birth.  This campaign season has been especially divisive for Republicans, and recently some of the most extreme anti-Obama republicans have been making their voice clear.  At a Santorum campaign stop, a woman professed her distrust for Obama, and made clear she thought he was a Muslim.  Santorum has been criticized for not doing enough to dismiss the woman’s comments, which is true, but is not the main issue.  When did it become acceptable to attack a politician based on their religion? And more importantly, when did the terms “Muslim” or “Arab” become an acceptable slur? The notion is ridiculous.  Imagine if an audience member attacked a candidate because they were Jewish.  There would be national uproar.  Moreover, if a candidate went after another candidate after their religious or cultural upbringing (unless it’s Muslim or Arab) that candidate would be labeled a racist, an anti-Semite, and a bigot and then be forced to drop out.  In 2008 John McCain was holding a rally and a woman mentioned that she thought Obama was a Muslim (not that there is anything wrong with that) and McCain stopped her and made clear Obama was a good man, and they just had political differences.  Even McCain, who had some harsh criticisms of Obama was decent enough to defend Obama as a person. Santorum did not do enough to be sure, but the problem is not with just Santorum.  The problem is an American culture, more specifically a political culture, which allows for intense Islamaphobia to be expressed in a public forum.  It is only acceptable to attack one religion (Islam) and one culture (Arab) publically without facing any blowback. 

This double standard became glaringly clear in 2010 in the case of Helen Thomas.  Thomas worked for the United Press for 57 years, has written six books, and covered every president from Eisenhower to Obama.  However in May of 2010, Thomas made comments critical of the White House’s stance on Israel, and comments critical of Israeli treatment of Palestinians.  She never once mentioned Jews in a negative manner of criticized the religion itself.  Nevertheless she was instantly branded an anti-Semite, and was forced out of the profession.  Rewards that had been given in her name for over a decade were cancelled within days, and her comments became a national story.   The fact that a journalist of more than 60 years cannot criticize the policies of the United States and Israel, but the president of the United States can be attacked for being a supposed Muslim is outrageous. In the video with the McCain, the way he responds makes it seem like no Arab or Muslim could be a good, decent, family man.  But since he is not either of those things, then it is possible.  He did not mean it that way, but it certainly rings true for a shocking number of Americans