America is not just a landmass occupied by a diversity of people. It’s filled with participants in an experiment unique in human history. The Republic requires connective tissue to bind the various factions to the greater whole.
Gathering places that are relatively conflict free serve that purpose. As my 66th year rapidly comes to an end I am worried that differences of opinion are becoming irreconcilable. Areas of social interaction that had previously been gathering places for all Americans have become overtly politicized. Social safety valves are disappearing. Old fashion notions of courtesy, respect and a sense of time and place have fallen out of favor. This is a harbinger for friction and division that destabilizes our remarkable republic.
We use to have institutions where Americans could escape bitter partisan rancor. Those oases are drying up. Humor, entertainment and sports were cultural oases that acted to nourish a thirst for common cultural ties. Today they tend to quench the thirst of only those on the left. We use to be able to laugh together. We could cheer at and for athletic competitions. We could fall asleep laughing at Johnny’s jokes. We could admire our favorite entertainers at the Oscars and Grammys.
As the left has increasingly dominated academia, entertainment and sports, nonpolitical institutions have become mouthpieces for political movements. Conservatives are unwelcome.
Conservatives are now singularly mockery and ridiculed as a matter of course. It’s a new fault line. White religious Christians feel the ground shifting under their feet. Late night shows cater to balkanized audiences. As a result sports fans stop watching and turn out in fewer numbers. Award show audiences shrink. The cool clear fountain that dispensed refreshing communal American water might as well post signs saying, Conservatives Not Welcome.
The depth of feelings among the dividers is evidenced by their lack of concern about lost revenue. They see themselves as the righteous reservoirs of truth. Thus the dismissal of those with whom they disagree seems reasonable.
It seemed like an anomaly in 1973 when Marlon Brando chose Marie Louise Cruz, Sacheen Littlefeather, to accept his Oscar for Best Actor. She made a statement about Indian “rights” in place of a gracious thank-you from Brando. Most people wrote the incident off as the action of a man acting out on his road to recluse loony tune oblivion. Which is exactly where he ended up. Americans, including those who were sympathetic to her “cause” saw the gesture as inappropriate. Forty-five years later arrogant behavior, often acted out by the marginally well informed, is routine.
In 1973 we heard a few boos from the entertainment elite on hand. Today Littlefeather would get a standing ovation. Remember Meryl Streep’s 2017 Golden Globes rant. That audience of Hollywood elites raucously reinforced her politicizing the event. In 2003 they stood in ovation for a talented child rapist named Polanski. Now they ridicule the President without a hint of self-awareness or proportionality.
We heard barley a ripple of disapproval as a finger wagging cast member of Hamilton lectured the Vice President accompanied by his daughters for an evening of entertainment. Old fashion notions about rude behavior are an anachronism of a polite era long gone.
America is not a better or more inclusive place as a result. The ugliness of racial segregation has been replaced with opinion segregation. It’s defacto separation enforced by the left with no venue left untouched. I understand that Brando/Littlefeather, Kimmel, Streep, Coach Popovich, Kaepernick and LeBron have a right to inject political opinions into the work place. I question their wisdom. It demonstrates distain for half of America. It exhibits a level of hubris that used to be frowned upon. Now it is celebrated as “activism”. The left is comfortable with the idea of ‘me and my opinion’ above all else, if it conforms with established bias.
Steve Allen, Charlton Heston and David Robinson were able to be politically active without alienating half of America. They didn’t mix business with personal partisan politics. Is it mere coincidence that the denizens of entertainment and sports politicization predominantly reside on the left? It is no coincidence. The left rejects tradition and manners. Why would you give bad people any quarter? Is there any question that Coach Pop would have been fired had he spoken about Obama as he has about Trump? Conform and you are courageous. Deviate and you are not welcome. Turns the definition of courage on its head.
The late Don Rickles was an equal opportunity insult machine. I miss him and the days when comedians weren’t plagued by partisan myopia. Their craft demanded a commitment to humor not party.
God knows I have strong political opinions. But I also value and in fact crave areas that are politics free (or areas where ridicule is not all in one direction), places where the stresses of disagreements can be set aside. As a sports, comedy, music, theater and movie fan I see those areas of enjoyment shrinking. At least sixty-three million Americans crave that lost cultural connective tissue. The body politic breaks down when the connective tissue decays. I know of no effective treatment. Do you?
Michael, you are a gifted writer. Well done. The left wants total domination. They seek to divide, creating sub groups of American Victims…until we have no ties that bind…just warring factions of groups with no reason to hang together as AMERICANS.