I Fear For My Country

Right-wing blogs, "news" channels, and talking heads have managed to make a lot of people fearful lately. They fear a black man as president. They fear anyone who is different than they, whether it be skin color, country of origin, or religious belief. They fear they won't have any money when they are old. They fear terrorists. They fear government. They fear each other.

Know what I fear? I fear that the United States of America has lost it's Constitution. I fear that laws are for changing at a whim. I fear that racists and homophobes and other hateful people are taking over our government. I fear religious oppression in the form of those that call themselves "Christians" imposing their warped biblical ideas on the rest of us. I fear that whatever rights I currently possess as an American citizen will be taken from me. I fear that America will become a horrible place to live.


I find myself getting angrier and angrier at the people who are causing my fear. I want to lash out at them, and I sometimes do when responding to comments on threads or blogs. I become vituperative in my responses. I am full of bile when speaking to those who spout hatred and bigotry and homophobia. I don't like myself when I get like that, and I'd dearly love to find common ground with those I am angry at, so that I could have reasonable discourse with them. But, I've become so fearful of the future of this nation that I've lost my patience with people such as they. I end up in battle mode when confronted by them.


This doesn't make me proud. I'm not thrilled if I feel I've scored some sort of verbal victory. I feel helpless. Helpless to make people understand how they have been lied to and manipulated and brainwashed into believing that same-sex marriage is wrong. That liberals are evil. That Barack Obama is a Muslim. That government regulating corporations makes us all less free.


It's like beating one's head against a wall. Most of the people I encounter who fit into the categories of Tea Party people or Republican or Libertarian are impermeable to logic and reason. Seemingly oblivious to facts or rational thought. It's astonishing how they dig in and refuse to admit anything outside their sphere of knowledge to penetrate and perhaps change their perspective. They appear allergic to new ideas.


I fear them. They are legion. They are everywhere. They are my neighbors, co-workers, customers, and even family. I can't find common ground with them.


I was taught to be tolerant of others, but I have yet to find that level of understanding with these folks. I don't know that I can.