Homophobe, Islamophobe, xenophobe, racist, sexist--take your pick of "-phobe" and "-ist," we've become a divided nation of angry people over the past decade.
One ideological group of Americans in particular quickly attacks anyone with whom they disagree by simple-mindedly dismissing them with an imaginary "phobyism" (my word). It's just become so darn easy to mindlessly cast nasty words at others.
It doesn't matter if their smears are wholly unfounded. Just demean away!
The game is to (often aided by some mainstream media) make others perceive the target as being of lesser worth and intelligence than the accusers. Some call these Machiavellian tactics, or using any means to achieve an end.
Should you express legitimate concern over the number of innocent lives being taken, Americans included, by beastly followers of radical Islam, the detractors try to intimidate you into denying your beliefs by publicly dismissing you as another unworthy Islamophobe.
Such nonsense is akin to my being cast hypothetically as a "blackdogophobe" because I am concerned about packs of rabid stray black dogs attacking and killing innocent people.
The only thing phobic would be my concern over reality, rather than opting for a fairy tale with the moral to always be receptive to all black dogs that wander into the yard.
We can say the same thing about those who neither embrace, nor condone, an alternative lifestyle being dismissed in certain circles as being fearful, or "homophobic," of those who follow that lifestyle.
The name-callers' goal is to publicly intimidate and label those who refuse to accept only their viewpoints. There is no recognition of the fact that when hundreds of millions of humans are involved, there naturally will be differences of belief and opinion. No amount of berating will change hearts or minds.
The truth of this matter, I believe, is that while the majority of Americans don't subscribe to the gay lifestyle, they also choose not to interfere with those who do. Yet non-interference alone isn't good enough for a lot of name-callers.
As for accusing fellow Americans of being "xenophobes" (one who fears or loathes those of different cultures or races) that's also not what I perceive among the vast majority of Americans.
Is most of our nation's population seriously concerned about the enormous influx of unvetted citizens from other countries flowing into America? Of course they are. What rational adult wouldn't be?
If purple folks are blowing up airplanes and beheading innocents, is it xenophobic to pay special attention to the unvetted purple people entering America? Is taking extreme caution unfair to purple people as a whole? Unfortunately, it is. But it's also a matter of erring on the side of prudence, based not in hatred or fear, but in protection and self-preservation.
I believe the most overused smear in the U.S. today is casually calling anyone a racist who doesn't agree with you. The most obvious case of this I've noticed has happened over the past eight years of Barack Obama's presidency when his supporters and others immediately labeled as "racist" anyone who disagreed with his policies and radical decisions.
Playing the racist card has provided a convenient excuse, requiring neither truth nor reason. Using the slur became commonplace when, in fact, racism had zippo to do with a person's disagreements with the president, any more than disagreeing with George Bush's policies had to do with his skin color.
I'm certainly not saying racists and racism don't exist. They most certainly do. As an aging journalist, I've exposed its ugly face and consequences more than once. I am saying the accusation of racist has become so abused it carries little credibility.
We've also seen and heard the "sexist" and "sexism" smears spewed during this presidential election with Hillary Clinton as the Democratic candidate. How convenient and false it was to hear someone utter: "You don't like her because she's a woman."
Sorry, but I'll never buy that Clinton lost because she's a female. Obama won twice as a black candidate. The problems ran far deeper this election than that phony accusation.
Common sense must prevail over our mindless name-calling, bogus narratives and destructive political correctness if we're to survive as a nation of free people.
We are so much better a people than this immature, ineffective and inflammatory approach to disagreement.
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Mike Masterson's column appears regularly in the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette. Email him at [email protected].
Editorial on 12/10/2016