By Robert Gonzalez, An Essay
Communications Committee Chair
One useful way to show human dignity, courtesy, and respect to each other is to first accept that all of us have a human right to find self-empowerment. As in the olden days of mass media, the chaotic Information Age shows that if you have information you have power. But today, the de-massified Social Media ecosystems challenge is identifying truthful and relevant information. With truthful and relevant information, voters can make thoughtful political decisions rather than decisions based on fear and hate. Ideally, they will make selections of political leaders that will respect human rights and freedoms for themselves and others.
That has not always proven true. The political evolution of the American experience has been far from ideal for many of its inhabitants. Since the founding days of United States access to voting rights has often been suppressed, obstructed, or violently prevented. Democrats of today believe that support for voting should include spreading all available voter information including multilingual format for current and new citizens so that everyone can easily vote. Click the multilingual link.
A snippet of history from just a short time after the ratification of the U.S. Constitution illustrates the perpetual fight for rights and voting in America. The large number of Irish and German Catholic immigrants to the U.S. between 1830 and 1860 led to tensions between Catholics and Protestants. In response to this influx of immigrants, the “Know Nothing” Political Party was formed in the early 1850s. Later in the 1850s many of the anti-immigrant Know Nothing members joined the Republican Party. So, it is not surprising today that the MAGA hate mongering and lies about fraudulent voting nationwide, or worse, about legal immigrants (with Temporary Protected Status) in Springfield, Ohio shows the willingness to traffic in the world of racial supremacy and hate.
The political reasoning behind this rhetoric goes beyond building community of Trump MAGA folk. One conservative explaining Trump’s language said that the realm of the coin is to inflame not only their base but induce fear, anger, and hatred in many other voters. It’s common knowledge that humans are mostly emotional, and fear is one of the strongest emotions to manipulate. Using what are obvious lies to inflame others with scapegoating and hatred for one’s problems is a common political trick of dictators. No positive regard is given to this intimidation and dehumanization of immigrants because they are unknown and are “different.” The relief of suffering and rendering of empathy for immigrants is supplanted by the stronger fears of problems supposedly caused by their arrival. The truth of evidence proving otherwise never catches up or is simply ignored as a matter of expediency.
To gain power, despots use this type of hate to divide people using words to demonize others who they deem inferior to their people. The list of “others” to target for intimidation is long. The MAGA crowd is gleeful of their language of hate, lies and other outrageous verbal intimidations. In watching their rallies, the MAGA crowds’ responses to their dear leader’s words seem to provide them a sense of community especially when their words and deeds “cross the line.”
The crowd responds with excitement that those words and their behavior “trigger the Libs,” referring to Democrats. The sad irony is that MAGA Trumps don’t realize they are the ones being triggered. They have given control of themselves for manipulation by another. Indeed, the Republican message disingenuously blames all the ills of cities and rural economic challenges and social dysfunctions on Liberal Democrats. This assertion is nonsensical as these rural and urban challenges are complex. It is just not possible that these diverse societal ills have one root cause. As such, what MAGA Trumps don’t recognize is that Democrats are not triggered by their words but rather Democrats are responding to comforting and supporting humans who they marginalize.
In observing this MAGA street performance, one can be forgiven their confusion in seeing a small increase of Black and Latino males supporting the MAGA Trump ticket with its tones of racial supremacy and the promise of mass immigration deportations in the millions. Partial explanation of this scenario is found in a sense of community some Latinos find in the Evangelical movement. They are supporting the MAGA brand going so far with one Texas pastor redefining the brand as “Make America Godly Again.” To an outsider, this recombination of the MAGA logo may seem extreme but when viewed as a faith based roundup, one can understand the importance of faith leaders in the history of Latino communities. In fairness to the Evangelical segment of the population, they are not a monolithic religious group as evidenced by this link
According to Nicole Chavez, CNN, article of October 30, 2022, “contrary to White faith voters, Latino faith voters are not synonymous with Republican. Much like the overall bloc of Latino voters, neither party appears to have a monopoly on Latino faith voters who identify as Protestant. An estimated 42% of Hispanic Protestants identify as independent, 33% as Democrat and 20% as Republican, PRRI data shows.
The most recent desperation time hate mongering language used to target others include, “Immigrants are criminals,” Jewish people with antisemitic tropes, Asians, women as second class citizens, and People of Color with outright or implicit assertions of inferiority, and the Disabled or LGTBQ+ people as not deserving any dignity or human rights. These are in service to a perpetual notion that the real America is a Racially pure Christian nation.
The Placer County Democratic Party will not stand idle for such hatred, attacks, and notions of racial and religious supremacy. The U.S. was established as a colony and then a nation by immigrants fleeing oppression in their homeland and seeking freedom and liberty for themselves. They have made America into a unique country of innovation and cultural and ethnic diversity, even as it continues to struggle for truth, hope, decency, egalitarianism, and harmony amongst its population. The Democratic Party strives to be a Big Tent that welcomes people with a belief in freedom and equality for all in American democracy. Democrats possess a humanitarian attitude and have empathy and compassion for others.
