Reflections From The Heartland

Part I: A Family Affair

He pledged to be “a uniter, not a divider”. We should have had our suspicions right then and there. For after all, that’s simply not the Republican strategy, and it hasn’t been for over fifty years. The last Republican who tried it was Bush the father, and he proved once and for all that as long as politics are conducted on a reasonable, semi-honest plane, the Republican Party ideology will simply never meet the needs and values of the majority of Americans. For it should be quite clear to anyone that the top priority of the Republican party is to put more money into the pockets of the wealthy minority in this country, and as long as people are level-headed and moderate, there is no comprehensible reason to put such a party into power. And unfortunately for them, the “culture war” that the Republicans had for so long relied upon to turn out the bigoted vote, and to convince white America that every time they didn’t get a job it was because of an immigrant or affirmative action, and that the gays were coming to give their disease to their children- well, that war hasn’t been going so well for them over the past fifteen years.

So how do you get a majority of the population to the support you even as you are sending their sons to kill and die for your corporate empire, and even as you are emptying out the treasury into your own pockets? You infuse the population with fear, hatred and ideology at every turn. You pit the populace against themselves, you paralyze them by polarizing them. You use words like “patriotic”, pretending that patriotism has something to do with allegiance to the government. You talk of “appeasers” and “neo-appeasers” without ever even explaining what the difference between the two might be. You connect all of your foes in a common linguistic thread of evil: Osama->Saddam->France->Protesters. You encourage hate on all sides, because when there is hate, people can’t think straight, they can only make calculations to support their hate. You make sure that this hate and ideology become deeply intertwined in personal identity, so that one cannot abandon those feelings without severe cognitive dissonance. You do whatever you can to create two different languages, so that the two sides cannot even communicate.

Here on the coasts, Bush’s efforts have had seemingly little effect. But a closer look shows that in the end, the “blue states” have ultimately played into his hands. We too, have allowed ourselves to become infused with ideology, and have accepted that we are in an ideological civil war with the “red states”. And what a war it is.

But in what I am loosely referring to as “the Heartland”, I daresay that Bush has met with tremendous success. The exact measure of his success varies through every one of the thousands of communities that make up Bush’s base, but an almost religious devotion to Bush, as well as a view of his critics as heretics has permeated much of this land. Those who have viewed Bush as a devastating force against the most precious and noble American values have faced ostracism and intolerance rivaled only by recent and ongoing eras in which the Republican extremists manufactured and sustained the Red Scare, homophobia, and racism for political ends. In dedication to their bravery and patriotism I have asked readers in these areas to email me with their experiences, which I am organizing into this series: “Reflections From the Heartland”. This is the first of four or possibly five installments in which I am printing some of the typical responses (the total response was tremendous, and even in so many installments I cannot possibly print them all). This first installment contains a few excerpts from responses demonstrating exactly how close to home Bush’s polarization penetrated for some in the Heartland.

I always thought freedom of speech meant one could speak anywhere, anytime. Boy, was I mistaken. One night listening to Bush lie, I said I'd love to go down to Washington and protest the war. My husband of 42 years turned to me and said, "You're a traitor and you're talking treason."

How does one argue with that? One can't. Instead, the war in Iraq and the missing WMD are no longer discussed in our house. But I can't help but remember that in Nazi Germany, family members were encouraged to turn in their own families to the authorities. Will things come to that in this country?

Part of the problem now is that the Republicans won't admit they are and/or were wrong. Until they do so, their followers aren't going to either. And until that happens, the rift in our marriage isn't going to be healed, instead it just festers.
–A Pennsylvania Suburb

I suppose I could start back in March when my husband's grandfather informed my husband that the protestors should be shot, and that 'you love it or leave it'. I assumed 'it' meant America. My husband's stepfather was dead serious on the "freedom fries" thing, and called french toast 'patriot toast'. Of course I had to inform him that Patriot, as well as his last name, were French.
–Downstate, IL

My wife had a jewelry party the other night. I was present to keep the dogs we own under control and help with refreshments. After the jewelry show the gals sat about talking about everything. One woman, was telling my wife that she was really concerned that she may have to go to work as they have five children under the age of fifteen and how could they afford to send them all to college? This woman is a big Bush supporter. I asked her why she voted for Bush when Gore had proposed to give a ten thousand dollar tax credit to families that qualified, for college tuition? Everyone present looked her way to hear the answer. There was no answer. She promptly got up, scowled at me, grabbed her belongings, curtly excused herself and left. We've haven't heard from her since. Need I say more? – A small town in PA

Social Atmosphere:

Less than 24 hours after Bush's biblical 48-hour warning to Saddam and his sons, I saw a professionally-designed and printed yard sign in Davenport, Iowa: I support THE AMERICAN PRESIDENT and the American troops. Being in the advertising racket, I know the lead-time on such a project and knew the order for this sign was placed weeks before Bush officially made his decision. I was amazed by the transparent electioneering on display here. Less than a week into the war I started seeing cheap versions of this sign throughout Des Moines, Iowa. This one read: We stand with President BUSH and our troops. Again, Bush gets top bill with a font size at least four times larger than the second-banana troops. Twice, I hear the local Des Moines NBC News affiliate hawking these signs: "Show your support for our troops with these patriotic yard signs available for free from the Des Moines Republican Party Headquarters at (address)." –Des Moines, IA

There is very little information in the media about what is actually happening, and most people simply don't read. Anything. Most of my friends and acquaintances are college graduates, and most of them have no clue about any of this. I think the threat of any kind of totalitarian government is so beyond what any of us has experienced in the last two to eight decades of American life that people just can't conceive of it, let alone consider it a real possibility. People just go along and pretend everything will be fine.

I know I'm not the only one out here thinking like this, but I feel like a voice in the wilderness! No one here is paying attention!
- Columbus, OH

Shining through all of these stories is the politics of personal identity. Whereas many reading this may identify themselves as “anti-Bush”, a large portion of Bush’s base identifies itself with the statement “I am Bush, Bush is me”. A natural reaction when faced with fear, especially for the white male ego, is to revolt with a perhaps superficial swelling of pride. Such pride becomes a weakness in a sense, as it must constantly be supported, buttressed, and band-aided. All who criticize represent threats to this most basic human crutch, and they must be denigrated, ridiculed, and cast out of view. Thus fear breeds pride and pride breeds hate, and once this psychology has been infused into the public, they will follow you to the ends of the earth if only to spite their ideological enemies.

As a final note, it was the late Strom Thurmond who first taught the Republicans these ways. His presidential bid in ’48 sought above all else to breed what might be called “the fear of a black planet”, in turn evoking the white pride that was being threatened, in turn making those whites ignore calls from his opponents that the Dixiecrats were really only trying to solidify their stranglehold on all labor, white and black. Bush’s current strategy is a direct descendant of the Dixiecrat approach, and should be understood as such. Perhaps over time we will all learn what it means to be on the Republican scapegoat list, just as these readers have. Thanks to all who contributed, and oh yeah- thanks, Strom.

Jesse Lee is a recent graduate of Trinity College in Hartford with a degree in Political Science and Philosophy. He works as a paralegal in Washington, D.C. where he was born and raised. He also volunteers with MoveOn and The Education for Peace in Iraq Center (EPIC). He encourages your comments at kirkout79@hotmail.com. This article is copyright by Jesse Lee and originally published by opednews.com but permission is granted for reprint in print, email, blog, or web media so long as this credit is attached.