Poisoned Rhetoric: comparing Obama with Hitler

A couple of weeks ago, more or less, Hank Williams Jr. implied/compared President Obama to Hitler and said he’s “the enemy.”  He got some flak for making this comparison, and rightly so.  Yet, according to an article in a CBS News’ blog, called “Political Hotsheet” (by Corbett B. Daly), Sarah Palin said that the criticism that Hank Williams Jr. received for this is ‘disgusting.’  Disgusting?  Really!

Let’s just take the word “enemy.”  According to “dictionary.com,” an “enemy” is defined as “(1) a person who feels hatred for, fosters harmful designs against, or engages in antagonistic activities against another; an adversary or opponent.  (2) An armed foe; an opposing military force: The army attacked the enemy at dawn and (3) a hostile nation or state.”  In that light, have Republicans and Democrats truly become enemies, as in “a person who feels hatred for, fosters harmful designs against, or engages in antagonistic activities against another”?  If so, our nation is worse off than we think.

Enough already!  Rhetoric matters.  We are not enemies.  Enemies are to be destroyed, annihilated and altogether cancelled out.  Do Conservatives and Liberals really want to annihilate each other?  Right Wing and Left Wing people may be political opponents and may even get angry at each other.  But to see each other as enemies that need to be destroyed?  That’s taking politics too far.  We may be political opponents but we are citizens of the same country, with allegiance to the same flag, serving the same nation, and value the same American ideals.  We are NOT enemies.

Of course we can be passionate about our convictions; we can even be loud and boisterous about them.  Let’s do argue and defend our case and support our cause, but let’s not unnecessarily and unfairly vilify our political opponents.  We are Americans.  ONE Nation under God, not two, three or however many Americas that our various parties and platforms may make us think that we have.  We are one people with one government.  We are not enemies.  Political battles are one thing, but outright disgust and hatred, vilifying and demonizing each other is uncalled for and should not be acceptable from Right or Left.

Democrats and Republican representatives should actually play golf together and have lunch together.  Yes, they should become friends.  Together they represent the same Union.  Of course, let them disagree whole heartily in their political views but let them also respect each other and hold each other in high regard as colleagues in office, friends, and citizens sharing the same love for this nation, working for One Nation Under God….