“Some of those that were forces/are the same that bore crosses/Killing in the name of/And now you do what they told ya/And now you do what they told ya/now you’re under control” — "Killing in the name of” Rage Against the Machine

You know I got to tell you, I’m a little concerned. I take a look around this great country of ours and I don’t see a nation united. Our so-called melting pot seems like its just one click on the oven away from boiling over and the whole thing erupting. And while I think there are many things out there that could cause the temperature to rise ever so slightly, I’m very afraid that someone out there is going to decide to vote with a bullet and go after the president.

I feel like I should probably state a few things up front: I’m a progressive, I voted for Barack Obama and I really disliked George W. Bush. And while I know that nobody on the left was a fan of our 43rd president, I also don’t remember the level of vitriol aimed at him that made me feel like someone was going to try and place cross-hairs on his forehead. I feel that way now.

What is it? What is it about this man, Barack Obama, which seems to bring out the absolute worst in some of us? It’d be too easy to say the answer is his skin tone. No, I don’t think that’s it solely. I’m sure for many that’s a piece of it, but not all of it. Is it his policies? Have you looked closely? In policy and actions thus far, the man more closely resembles Bush than FDR. Is it the fear that somehow this president is going to turn us into a socialist country? Well, the only answer I have for that is that’s arguably one of the dumbest notions I’ve heard in a while. Let me explain.

Those on the right often hearken back to the 1950s as some halcyon period in American history — little jimmy knew how to read and father knew best. Post WWII America was expanding at an unbelievable rate and there was enough for everyone. Right? Wrong!

Lets see: blacks were still sitting at the back of the bus; women were still regulated to the kitchen; and, this one is my favorites, the top marginal tax rate under President Eisenhower was 91-92 percent. I’m going to go out on a limb here and say no one would have called Eisenhower a socialist.

Article Author: Benjamin Cossel

A working journalist, Benjamin currently serves as a combat photojournalist and is the managing editor of a weekly newspaper in southeastern Wyoming. He’s worked as a reporter in Ohio, Arizona and done several deployments in the military crossing the globe. …

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