“You lie!” — accusation shouted by Republican Representative Joe Wilson, disrupting Pres. Barack Obama’s Congressional address, September 2009.
“Liar! “Fraud!” — accusations shouted at Greenfield Historical Commission meeting to disrupt a hearing on fire station demolition related to library construction, October 2021.
“F*** Joe Biden” — chant heard at public gatherings, and appearing unedited on T-shirts, mugs, bumper stickers, etc., fall 2021.
I’ve tried to place my dissatisfaction with the tone and content of many political discussions today in some sort of perspective. Am I simply an elder who can’t keep up with modern cultural changes? Have I joined the ranks of old men and women who clutch at their metaphorical pearls in dismay at the casual use of once-obscene words?
Less than 50 years ago, after a comedy routine, George Carlin was arrested for reciting and discussing the seven words banned from print and broadcast media (all referred to female body parts, human bodily functions, or sexual behavior). In a later interview, he noted that the words themselves have only the power we give them by “refusing to be free and easy with them…. It’s the thrust of the sentence that makes them good or bad.”
It’s the “thrust of the sentence” that, for me, makes so much of today’s political discourse nearly obscene. Regardless of the words involved, the national and local examples above, and countless others involving Democrats and Republicans, are intended to diminish and demean, disrupt and destroy. There is no invitation to debate, no point made other than to express anger, frustration, and often hatred. Although Donald Trump consistently brought public discourse to new lows, I see some of his greatest obscenities as his attacks on the war record of John McCain after his death, and more recently, the service of Colin Powell.
American politics has never been a stilted, white-glove exercise in which all campaigning and debating is limited to policy differences before and after charades of warm handshakes and insincere compliments. A feud between American founders John Adams and Thomas Jefferson (after Jefferson turned down the vice presidency under Adams) resulted in a bitter presidential campaign, won by Jefferson, in which Jefferson’s camp suggested Adams had a “hideous hermaphroditical character,” while Adams’ supporters countered that Jefferson was “a mean-spirited, low-lived fellow.”
There are countless examples of name-calling, character assassination, and dirty politics in our history. But along with our political discourse, I believe political actions have turned a corner as well. I’ve watched them take a right turn off Rough and Tumble Avenue, onto a shortcut at Disruption Street, veering towards the dead end at Destruction Road.
A key moment came during the recount of the 2001 presidential election in Florida, in what became known as the “Brooks Brothers Riot.” Many of the “protesters” were white men dressed in nice blazers, ties, and expensive watches, and were later identified as Republican Party employees.
The room where election officials were painstakingly trying to recount punch card ballots was surrounded, the door forced open by threatening men and women shouting “Voter fraud” and spewing personal insults. Glass windows and doors shook as they were pounded by hands and fists. Ballot workers feared they might be attacked. The “rioters” were demanding that the recount be stopped. In the end, it was, and the election decision was handed to a friendly Republican Supreme Court which supported stopping the recount. Their decision allowed Gentleman Al Gore to spare the nation more turmoil and pushed George W. Bush into power. The rioters were successful, and the politics of disruption took a huge step forward.
Since the intended disruption of the Electoral College vote on Jan 6, 2021, we have seen the same type of politics invade Greenfield. In two different instances, police were required to maintain order, first at a ceremonial gathering, and later, at a public meeting. Although the “Happy Valley” has always been a misnomer — there have always been groups of very unhappy people — political discussions and decisions have generally been conducted according to accepted democratic processes, without the threats and intimidation seen in many other parts of the country today. In other areas, civic meetings have degenerated into shouting matches; school and health board members, civil servants, and a variety of other well-meaning volunteers are threatened or harassed online, their private homes subject to protests, their daily lives interrupted by shouts, insults, and crude gestures. Let’s hope that the coarsest of discourse, and the politics of disruption and intimidation are only temporary residents in our area.
Allen Woods is a freelance writer, author of the Revolutionary-era crime novel “The Sword and Scabbard,” and Greenfield resident. His column appears regularly on a Saturday. Comments are welcome here or at awoods2846@gmail.com.
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The World Keeps Turning with Columnist Allen Woods: Coarser discourse and politics of disruption - The Recorder
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