Political extremism is “Bad for America”

We have just come through a long and divisive fight over “Health Care”; one, which ended with not a single Republican crossing, party lines. As I wrote in “Health Care in America; ‘The US health care system now equals about 17% of the US economy, With that in mind, there is little reason to wonder why so many people feel so passionately about any possible changes.”
There is always a fear of the unknown, and Americans are right to be exceptionally cautious about ever giving more power to the federal government. When Jefferson, Adams, Paine, Madison, and others joined forces to pen the Constitution of the United States, they stated clearly that the resulting government must be one of “Limited Powers.” It was those very limitations, more than anything else that distinguished our government from any that had come before. It was Jefferson that wrote
"the powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people,"
Aside from the philosophical concerns, there are also practical reasons to question the government’s ability to run the U.S. health care system. While it is sort of hard to argue that the government is filled with people that are more corrupt or greedy than those in the private sector; one can make the case that government corruption can become more entrenched and difficult to remove. While, Social Security and Medicare have turned-out to be such popular programs, that there is not a single member of Congress that would “Stand on the floor” and suggest ending them; it is true that these entitlements are eating up an ever large piece of the pie. This leads me to conclude that there were real and rational reasons for intelligent people to object to the health reform bill. The problem I have is with those that demonized both the bill and its supporters, and often based on false assumptions.
It is this “Demonizing” of the opposition, the attitude that those on the other side are not just wrong, but are Evil, that is frightening and dangerous. America is at it’s best when it can stand as a monument to reason and tolerance. To quote from a T-Shirt * “I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend your right to say it to my death”
It is this concept that has helped make America great, that has prevented our nation from collapsing into the downward spiral of politically generated division, hatred and violence that one finds in other countries. It is not an accident that in America, neighbors can find them selves on opposite side of any number of issues, yet still remain close friends. This “tolerance” is the direct result of responsible politicians, writers, talk-show hosts, and citizens in general each doing their part to “Turn-down” the rhetoric and actively discourage hate-filled rants, designed to drive a wedge between us.

I must confess that I am frightened by the rising tide of extremism coming from the fringe “Right Wing.” Clearly they do not represent the “Center” or even the “Center- Right” of America; but they do have just enough of a “Populist message” to attract the attention of many Center Right Republicans, and to force the conversation away from civility, and towards an absolute Good VS Evil rhetoric.
No one should act surprised that after 16 months of extreme groups portraying President Obama as the “Anti-Christ”, or a least a “Kenya-born, anti-white socialist” that many would fear him and his administration. The U.S. has always had it’s fair share on nuts railing on about how the government “Faked the moon landing”, has little-green-men stashed away under-ground at area 51, or that Fluoride in our water is a communist plot. What is particularly upsetting is, how at this time, mainstream Republicans are using these fringe groups as a way of throwing “Red-Meat” to their base. I will not even suggest that Democrats are above such tactics; I am only pointing out the inherent danger of giving any legitimacy to radical- armed-to-the-teeth groups. The Michigan Militia group Hutarre is a clear example of on of these groups that all American should fear.
Federal prosecutors who have been watching the Hutarre group for months, say they uncovered the militia members plan to kill a police officer, then days later when hundreds of law enforcement officers came to resulting funeral, they planed to set off homemade bombs killing as many additional officers as possible. It appears their idea was to create some kind of war between the government and the militia groups.
A federal prosecutor on Thursday asked U.S. District Magistrate Judge Donald Scheer to lock up eight members of the Hutaree Christian militia group Calling them a “dark hearted” group with evil intentions.
During a raid on Wednesday at the home of one of the Hutarre members, agents found 16 long guns, six gas masks, thousands of rounds of ammunition and a barbed-wire plaque that read “Remember Waco.”The irony is that I think we all need to “Remember Waco” and the Oklahoma City bombing as clear examples of the destruction that comes out of extremism, and the role that each American, on the left or right plays in keeping this a country where we can disagree without turning the volume so loud; that we spur on violence. Our politicians need to speak out against hate and violence, must do more than just condemn bricks being thrown threw windows of those in the opposition party, they must take an active role in reducing the rhetoric that leads to such actions.