Bigot: Noun. A prejudiced person who is intolerant of any opinions differing from his own.
7.13.2014
Several years ago I remember watching a Tea Party rally and saw right-wing zealots carrying signs with pictures of President Obama with a Hitler mustache drawn under is nose, and thinking how disgusting and insulting that was, and how stupid it is to degrade the president and this country with something so absurd.
Then not too long ago I saw left-wing zealots in the Wisconsin state capital carrying signs showing Governor Scott Walker with a Hitler mustache, and I remember commenting on the moronic behavior of that act.
That’s the point where I realized that the real Nazi’s were not the politicians pictured on the signs, but the zelots CARRYING the signs. There they were in all their perverse bigoted glory, both Republicans and Democrats, conservatives and liberals, choosing their own place and time to show their extremist hate. All marching and shouting and being very Nazi like with their Hitler mustache signs. Their disorderly marching could not conceal their goose-stepping arrogance. While trying their best to compare someone they dislike to Hitler, in reality they were displaying their own Hitler mentality. They are the worst type of bigots, hating and demonizing anyone that doesn’t blindly agree with them. The acts of these mindless zealots on both sides of the political spectrum made clear the mindset that keeps this country polarized and dysfunctional. This brought about the term Party Nazi. Even though I find it offensive and degrading to call anyone a Nazi, it seems that the Party Nazi’s have named themselves by their own ignorant and bigoted acts.
While I have to admit the term “Party Nazi” sounds like something out of a movie akin to Dumb and Dumber or Wayne’s World (the twisted humor there is part of why I chose that term) it really does accurately describe the extremists in both political parties that have a Nazi like dedication to their own bigoted ignorance as well as a Nazi like intolerance for anyone who disagrees with them.
For it is the hate and bias of the extremists on both the left and the right that corrupts our political system. The bigotry of the Party Nazi is the reason that bad politicians are reelected, and their blind obedience to the party leaders allows politicians to act in their own interests, and to ignore the interests and needs of the American people. This certainly does not mean that all Republicans or all Democrats fit the Party Nazi mold, but there is a large number of extremists in each party that often wield way too much power in shaping party policies.
Party Nazis continually vote a party ticket regardless of the actions of their representative. They only watch TV stations or read blogs that agree with their political point of view. They constantly accuse the other side of lying while being lied to themselves and loudly spouting the lies they are told. They can’t recognize lies of omissions or half-truths, and seem incapable of considering both sides of political issue. They celebrate when a member of the other party is caught doing something wrong or illegal and demand justice, but they try to rationalize or make excuses for a member of their own party who was caught doing the same wrong or illegal act.
Unfortunately the term of Party Nazi describes way too many members of both the Democrat and Republican parties. This, I believe, is due primarily to the manipulation of information by the media on both sides of the political spectrum to further their own agenda, and by politicians who are more interested in furthering their own gains and keeping their jobs then they are about doing what is right for America.
We all know people that are Party Nazis. Quite often they are good people. Being a Party Nazi doesn’t make you a bad or evil, it just makes you a political bigot. It makes you part of the problem. I had a conversation with a friend who was a supervisor at a large corporation, makes a very good living, is smart and good at her job. During a conversation she stated that she didn’t pay much attention to politics and always voted a straight party ticket. I asked why, and she stated that she has always voted that way. Again I asked why. She said because her father did…. Really? ……. Her generational political prejudice had allowed her to justify political ignorance in her mind. Political ignorance is what bad politicians thrive on, and this is an example of how it allows them to continually get reelected despite substandard performance in their duties. She voted for a candidate because of the party they represented and often didn’t even know who they were, much less what they are doing with our tax dollars or how their actions affect our lives, freedoms and security.
It is my belief that the solutions to the problems this country has are not all on the right or all on the left, but sometimes one or the other, and sometimes in the middle. I am acquainted with people on all sides of the political spectrum. The Republicans think I’m too liberal and the Democrats think I’m too conservative. That is fine, perhaps the common ground that centrists have with both parties can help bridge the political divide that plagues America.
Here at The Raving Moderate we urge all readers, on both the left and the right, to stop being part of the problem. Stop being one the the political extremists that keep this country politically polarized and dysfunctional. Disconnect your political thought process from any party affiliation. Demand selfless excellence from all your elected representatives, regardless of their political affiliation. Pay attention to what your elected representatives are doing at all levels of government. Do not defend or rationalize the bad actions of a politician because of his political party. Do not try to justify bad actions of politicians by complaining about the other party. Realize that the hate generated by extremists generally causes them to become like the very thing they claim to hate, but be open minded enough to realize that even extreme points of view can have merit when detached from political ideology. Weigh and consider your concept of right and wrong without considering the party affiliation of the individual or the political impact of the event. Know that what really matters is how an event affects other hard working, honest and possibly needy Americans. Realize that sacrifices and compromises are necessary to insure our security, protect our environment, enable our economy, guarantee our freedom and make this a better country.
All I ask is that you consider coming to the middle and start becoming part of the solution.