I’m not saying Americans are chumps, but I agree that we’re making odd mistakes in some core beliefs. Most Americans describe the country as a pluralistic society, which is true. But then we act as if everyone in it agrees. No, they don’t. The modern reactionary movement is defined by its emotional rejection of pluralism and tolerance. Even though we see egregious examples in the daily news, we still don’t seem to register how far we’ve moved from our ideal of compromise.
Pluralism and Diversity
My public school taught me to be proud of our diversity. America is a melting pot, they said, a land of immigrants. And yes, my southern teachers found ways to overlook the people we enslaved and Native Americans in their classes at my segregated school. There’s still an essential truth: we have a lot of different kinds of people. Unlike many countries, America isn’t bound by tribe, race, or language.
Along with our discard for homogeneity, we’re proud of our liberal democracy. Americans are exceptional, we say. We brag that we try to work through our differences towards common ground. We’re not perfect (or even very close), but we still aspire toward “a more perfect Union.”
While visiting Columbia, someone there told me that nobody held many illusions about American perfection. But America was still different. He used poverty as an example. Columbians accept that there will always be poor people. Americans, though, see poverty and think, “Hey! We should do something about that.”
Republican Reactionaries
The current Republican Party is lost in reactionary rhetoric. The very idea of tolerance has withered. Acceptance isn’t a virtue, they insist; it’s a weakness. And when the rest of us assume that Americans believe in the same basic principles, we’re mistaken.
It wasn’t always that way. Back when Democrats represented rural slaveholders, Republicans split from the Whigs because they opposed slavery. But time passed; alliances came and went. When the southern segregationists (Bluedog Democrats) fled their Party because of the Civil Rights Act, Republicans made their deal with the devil. They pretended that they weren’t segregationists and their White Nationalists were… outliers. Even if that was true then, the Oath Keepers are fully mainstream now.
When America overwhelmingly elected a Black man for President, the Republican Party lost its collective mind. This, they insisted, could not have happened. And that Obama was admired and respected toasted their grits even harder. Someone must have cheated, or so their leaders insisted against all evidence. Barak Obama could not have been legitimately elected because….
Well, that part of the argument trailed off. But GOP leaders insisted there was just one path forward: cheat that much harder.
Xenophobia
What do Republicans stand for? Well, actually, that’s a difficult question. So, try this: what are Republicans against?
That’s much easier, isn’t it? Republicans hate refugees and immigrants, of course. They talked about ‘illegals’ but recently admitted they despise legal immigration, too (which, I suppose, simplifies things). They dislike and distrust Brown people, Blacks, Asians, and… well, anyone not the right shade of White. Republicans dislike people who cook different foods, have distinctive preferences, and despise people who insist that being different is OK. The GOP bemoans people who don’t speak English as their first language. Modern ‘conservatives’ hate anything that clashes with their ahistorical White straight male fantasy of 1950s small-town life.
That’s quite a broad spread, isn’t it? Let me break that down.
Theophobia
Republicans are angry Christian Nationalists. You’d think that winning would make them happier, but no. They demonize Muslims, Hindus, Buddhists, Sikhs, Jews, Taoists, and atheists. If they understood it, they’d hate Vodú, hoodoo, and you do, too. They are well on their way to installing Christianity as the superficial American religion.
Official. That’s what I meant.
But people who claim to be Christians have an odd interpretation of the New Testament. It’s official Republican policy to demonize the poor and hurt refugees and their children. They attack the sick and weak, take food from hungry mouths, and practice zero forgiveness for anyone.
Did I miss that day in Sunday school?
Besides, we’re not done. “Christianity” isn’t narrow enough. Republicans hate Catholicism, Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox, the Church of the East, the Church of the West (if there was one), Christian Orthodox, Jesuits, and (once more for emphasis) atheists. I’ve always thought that “godless heathen” was an oxymoron, but I’m proud of the epithet.
Even “Protestant” isn’t narrow enough for them. Republicans hate Jehovah’s Witnesses, Mennonites, and Amish. They’d decry the LDS church if they could get away with it. If there were more of them, the GOP would probably hate the Shakers, the Quakers, and the Puritans, too.
Religious tolerance is not a Republican virtue.
Gynophobia
How about the Republican War on Women? Republicans hate women’s reproductive rights, including abortions, contraception, freedom from forced sterilization, and anything where women can choose when or if to bear children. The GOP gets anxious to support discrimination against women and women’s health, even as they quiver that women might not choose them for sex. The Incels demand recompense, but I shudder to ask for any details. They hate the idea that women have a right not to be abused, and they decry when women complain about past abuse.
There you go!! Republicans are ‘for’ some things. They’re the first pro-assault, pro-sexual-abuse, pro-rape, pro-child-abuse Party in America. White Incels unite for… uh, look, I don’t want to know.
The GOP media outlets swear their Party is not – I repeat, NOT! – misogynistic just because they do so many things that hurt women disproportionately. (Ref: see racist.)
Erotophobia
Which segues neatly into the Republican War on Sexuality. The instant Republicans successfully stole reproductive rights, they moved to kill contraception. Notice how inclusively they’ve covered all sex, front to back? (Sorry.) They deny women a voice (or any choice) in sex, pregnancy, and contraception while maximizing unwanted pregnancies. Barefoot and pregnant.
Does anyone want to guess who’ll pay the costs of said pregnancies?
Republicans hate so much about sex. They talk about ‘unnatural’ this and that. Conservatives are already looking to re-ban “Interracial” couples, which is weird. (There’s only one human race right now.) Ron DeSantis conflates gay sex with bestiality. Queer people excite them so strongly that they can barely stand still as they bellow at their local school board.
But that’s just the thick, wet, juicy tip of the Republican dystopian vision of adult sexuality. Republicans hate gays, lesbians, bisexuals, transgender people, and queers of any stripe. (Perhaps they’re a little insecure?) Forget about fetishes, inclinations, or any sexual preferences that escaped their copious closet space. They get frothy and all funny under the belt at the concept of pride celebrations.
Tolerance was never high on their agenda.
Corruption
Maybe their endless massive graft is just ‘fear of missing out?’
If prior Republican administrations had one overriding characteristic, it’s their endless corruption. No matter what principles they espouse or goals they profess, somehow, some way, my money ends up in their patron’s pockets. Doesn’t matter if they destroy the water, the air, our neighborhoods, our culture, American international standing, or the entire world. Republicans have started wars to increase profits.
“But,” you ask, “aren’t the rich already burdened with oligarch-high levels of wealth?” Yes, they are! I’m glad you noticed. But no, they don’t care. After the first million or two, money isn’t the goal; it’s just how you keep score.
However you choose to slice that salami, Republicans have been pro-corruption and hard-right against competence.
Pluralism
The core of pluralism is to coexist in a society with more than one group, ideology, and set of principles. No, it doesn’t feel natural. Being an American is counterintuitive. Nobody should pretend that’s easy or obvious.
Republicans have simply given up pretending. The core of all these conservative complaints is deeply felt Republican disgust. No White man should have to tolerate anything that makes them feel uncomfortable or embarrassed. (Talk about snowflakes.) American pluralism has fallen beyond the GOP pale. They preach against tolerance, calling it a chump’s game. They’ve even corrupted the rule of law. In democracy’s place, they want corrupt authoritarianism and a national theocracy controlled by the least godly people.
Chockamo is right: We are delusional if we assume shame and patriotism will restrain this Party. They’ve broken bad; abuse and lies are on-brand. Unfortunately for our nation, our judicial establishment has gone to the ozone at just the wrong time.
Perhaps I’m unfair. Maybe our federal prosecutors are just… out to lunch, and we’ll get a flurry of activity in the year of our Insurrection plus three. America could successfully prosecute well-connected lawbreakers. After all, we have recordings of them committing their state and federal felonies. But so far, every example is walking free, still fat, still rich, and still very well connected. All the evidence has been negative.
What do we do when the rule of law takes a vacation? One of our two political parties doesn’t just ignore sedition; it’s a prerequisite to hold office. Republicans are so unhappy with American pluralism that they’ve staged an unsuccessful coup to seize permanent power. And we can see them buying more guns for their next try.
