There is a
concept regarding political discourse known as “
Overton’s Window”
that loosely defines the range of ideas the public will accept as
reasonable. According to James P. Overton (1960-2003), an idea’s
political viability depends mainly on whether it falls within “
the window”
the public, and not politicians, considers is not too extreme. It is
safe to say that after six years of flirting with blatant Republican
hate-mongering and bigotry using “
dog whistles” conservative
voters understand, Overton’s window is much, much larger and toxic
bigotry and hateful-rhetoric is the new normal.
For many Americans, the idea of a television reality-show and World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE)
celebrity like Trump as a viable Republican pretender
candidate was beyond the absurd. However absurd Trump’s run for the wingnut
nomination may seem, the reality is that whether he ultimately succeeds
in gaining the nomination or not, he has thrown open Overton’s window
and made abject bigotry as political discourse very popular among
conservatives and mainstream media and an actual threat to all
Americans.
While the rest of the world, and a few Americans, are dumbfounded by Trump’s success and conclude that he is an “
only in America caricature”
kind a fool, it is time to stop being shocked, or amused, and start
fighting back. If Trump et al are not shut down sooner than later,
decent Americans will have to gird themselves for some seriously
dangerous hate driven by Trump’s deliberately divisive politics that
will not stop at any one demographic.
Regardless how extreme, how bigoted, and how racist Trump’s rhetoric,
he is still the wingnut front-runner. If the Iowa caucus were held today,
Trump would cruise to
victory
over less openly-bigoted Republicans by a whopping 13 points. Maybe now
it is time for sane Americans to stop laughing or shaking their heads
in disgust at Trump and follow President Obama and other Democrats in
addressing Trump’s open hostility against any non-white and
non-'christian' for exactly what it is; patently un-American, hate-filled
bigotry and genuinely inhumane insanity.
Of course there has always been bigotry and hate speech in America;
it is part and parcel of America’s world-renowned ignorance and
arrogance problem. However, it has never been as widely-accepted as
reasonable political discourse or moderate campaign rhetoric; that is
the real, present, and future danger of Trump and the other Republicans
seeking the White House making extreme bigotry an acceptable and popular
position.
About the only thing the shrub can be praised for even though he
created ISIL is thwarting blatant American displays of anti-Muslim
prejudice. It was seemingly simple to be complacent about the occasional
anti-Muslim sentiments before an African American man became President,
but it is that complacency, or tolerance even, of wingnut hate-mongering
that has given Trump free rein to make open religious bigotry an
acceptable Republican policy.
If being a decent American citizen is not reason enough to assail
Trump, Fox News, and other wingnuts’ blatant anti-Muslim bigotry,
then self-preservation and national security should. It is true there
were barbarian
hate-mongers
in America before Trump, but they never proposed registering people as
undesirables according to their faith, imprisoning them, spying on their
places of worship, or banning them from daring to enter white 'christian'
America.
It is also frightening that a reality television hack single-handedly
made religious bigotry in a land with freedom of religion an
acceptable, and madly popular, aspect of the nation’s political debate
and discourse. Over the past six months, what was once considered beyond
the pale, blatant anti-Muslim prejudice, not only suddenly seems “less”
extreme to many Americans, it is actually regarded as palatable and
prescient.
By proposing seriously foul anti-Muslim policies as the center-piece
of his campaign, Trump is doing exactly what the Islamic State (ISIS,
ISIL) predicted was crucial to their victory. Remember, just last
February the official Islamic State magazine’s editorial was a clarion call to Republicans to “
fuel a sense among Muslims that they are unwanted, rejected, and hated” to drive them into the open arms of ISIL’s “
global jihad.” Trump’s actions and speech are providing ISIL with proof that
they control Republicans and are winning because Trump and company’s
anti-Muslim rhetoric and fascist proposals are exactly what ISIL
predicted “
western nations” would do.
If it were just Trump and a few Republicans openly preaching hate
against innocent American Muslims it would be horrific enough. But the
real source of concern is that no matter how extreme and hateful Trump’s
anti-Muslim, or anti-anyone, bigotry becomes it garners wild applause
and cheering from his supporters who may be approaching numbers to give
him the Republican presidential nomination.
Trump may be “
a pitiful absurdity that can simply be laughed off”
because he will never get near the White House. However, his hateful
rhetoric is inciting more bigotry among an already hateful Republican
base and doing the hard recruiting work for ISIL by creating home-grown
terrorists who will strike in the homeland before Republicans finish
chasing them out of America to join ISIL.
