Remember: Ronald Reagan Wasn’t a Hater

By Nichole Hungerford

I lost my cool in an argument with a friend over Cap-and-Trade.  My points had morphed into angry diatribes.  I hadn’t yet gotten to explicit insults, but my tone was surely at the point of communicating, “What are you, stupid?” to my old, dear friend.

When I realized my inadvertent emotional escalation, I apologized.  “It’s not anger directed toward you,” I explained.  Instead of feeling a certain triumph in beating down my opponent with logic, I felt foolish for beating him down with verbal abuse.  Although I typically have strong conviction in the truth of my claims, and find comfort in the superiority of my arguments, at some point during the dispute, it wasn’t enough.  I was so damned angry.

We’ve emerged from a very hateful time in the political discourse of America.  The urgency of a nation at war provided the Left with an excuse to open the floodgates on vicious, disturbed “expressions of free speech” and elevate it to the level of legitimate dialogue, almost completely drowning the need for propriety.  Who on the Left ever referred to unhinged war protesters as an “Astroturf mob” (when the label was accurate)?  Who on the Left rejected Bill Maher’s statement that someone should shoot Dick Cheney in the face?  Or the DNC Convention cretins who attacked Michelle Malkin, some chanting that she should be killed?  In fact, the Leftist establishment reveled in the public outcry as further evidence of their being on the side of right.

And here we on the Right are; so damned angry.  How can one not be frustrated when the specter of socialism races toward us, faster than anyone would have ever expected, even those, I’m sure, who voted for Obama or other Democrats.  Meanwhile, America as we know her seems to hang in precarious balance in the uncertain hands of a few ambivalent politicians.  What will be the outcome?  Nobody knows.  But by God, we can surely try our hardest to make our voices heard.  “Let it not be said that no one objected!” As Ron Paul has said.  We’re faced with a powerful aristo-political class who daily feed a growing government which makes our voices more and more remote.  Meanwhile, the vitriol leveled against us gets a nod by those same politicians and an agreeable media.  Our own executive power now encourages other Americans to report our free speech activity to them, one of the more convenient side-effects there being to intimidate and ridicule dissenters. The atmosphere, indeed, is urgent.

My friend hadn’t been disrespectful to me.  He hardly ever adopts a confrontational tone.  After we cleared the air between us, he reminded me of something, “Ronald Reagan was a great conservative, but he wasn’t a hater.”  It’s something we all could benefit from reflecting on in these heated political days of summer.  One of Reagan’s most important gifts, why he was truly a uniter who carried 49 states in his re-election, was his civility and kindliness toward both political opponents and dictators alike.  He didn’t act hatefully toward the opposition.  He didn’t demean or dismiss them.  He was the master of respectful, amicable debate concerning the most emotionally laden issues of our time.

Now, I certainly think Town Hall protests are deserved, and I’m invigorated by seeing raw, forceful dissent over the reckless behavior of our politicians and powerful special interest forces.  You have a lot of legitimate grievances and when speaking to a hard of hearing behemoth like the government, obviously one must raise the volume on the message for it to even be heard at all.  I’m concerned, however, at the childish lessons of the Left over the past eight years which are still fresh in our minds.  It seems easy to feel entitled to the same outrageous behavior, or letting emotion get the better of your sense of respect toward those who, at the end of the day, are just other people with a different opinion.  But as you are going to protests or town halls or even in ordinary conversation, remember the Reagan high road.  Remember to be civil and peaceable even if it means turning the other check, a test which will surely be administered as he summer proceeds.

The bottom line is organized protest need not necessarily be a hateful mob, but it can easily become one.  Enthusiasm can easily become rage, and the battle of hearts and minds has many fronts where this is always losing strategy.  The vast majority of protests have held to this standard, so let’s keep up the good work.

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