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SOCIETY | POLITICS
Why Does Almost Everything Today Feel So … WRONG?
The rise of the far right is tearing our society apart — and making us collectively crazier and angrier
Yesterday I watched a recent episode of 'The Daily Show,' and in addition to the usual wacky commentary about the usual social and political absurdities, it featured an in-depth interview with two directors of a recent documentary — "Against All Enemies" — about the involvement of U.S. ex-military personnel in extremist far-right groups and planning.
It was terrifying.
The directors pointed out that, despite America's long history of flirtation with far-right extremism — and occasional outright embrace of racist groups like the Ku Klux Klan — the U.S. has never seen a deep merging of the far-right with a sizeable group of ex-military folks and one of our two major political parties, the GOP.
That is, until today.
An explosion of bizarre events and trends
I bring up this particular (devastating) problem because it's symptomatic of the bizarre, truly horrific events and trends that have been increasing, in both scope and frequency, throughout our society over the past decade.
Somehow, the past decade has produced a much higher volume of sheer social and political craziness than any of the previous five decades — or even several of them combined. The last time the U.S. saw anything like our current volatile situation was in the 60s-early 70s, when intense battles over civil rights, mass protests over the Vietnam War, and several high-profile assassinations took place.
So, the question naturally arises: what's been happening over the past decade that's causing this explosion of bizarre, frightening events and trends? Why do our society and our daily lives just feel so wrong or out of joint?
Most people, including most journalists and pundits, don't want to look at the crucial issues behind this mounting weirdness. Plus, journalists and the media hide behind their longtime ideal of 'fairness' in giving equal time and equal weight to both sides of any argument or political struggle — even if one side is much more accurate, truthful, and socially responsible than the other.
But I don't need to abide by journalistic 'both-sides-ism' or excessive politeness, so I'm going to come right out and say: I think our society is 'going crazy' primarily because there is a sizeable minority of hateful, racist, and misogynistic bad actors who actively seek to destroy the multi-racial and more inclusive society that we've developed over the past 60 years.
They are seditious underminers and dangerous domestic terrorists.
And this destructive, loud — and violence-prone — group has been growing and gaining power over the past decade.
Out of the shadows and into the forefront of American life
This sizeable minority used to exist in the shadows, or on the fringes of our society — and was usually derided or not taken too seriously (thus the concept of 'fringe' movements).
But it is 'fringe' no longer. Now it's gone mainstream and has become acceptable — or even preferable.
After all the civil rights and feminist gains of the 60s and 70s, many Americans (including me) assumed that we'd finally transcended much of our racist and misogynist past, and were well on the way toward being a truly equitable, just society.
Uh, NO: wrong. A sizeable minority of Americans reacted with utter horror to all these inclusive, respectful, and open-minded shifts and changes — and began plotting to take down our new multi-racial, more equitable society.
Their plots and plans were always couched in the proud language of 'patriotism,' and appealed to people's deep longing for 'order' (i.e. conservatives' incessant harping on 'law and order') and a return to the 'old ways.'
But even many 'conservatives' had eventually supported most of the civil rights and feminist advances of the 60s and 70s — very briefly.
Looking at our recent history, I'd say that we began to revert — slowly, at first — to our tried-and-true racist and misogynist ways during the Reagan years, when conservatism and right-wing views and values began their resurgence.
A short history of far-right radicalization
Then, the 'conservative' movement started getting far more conservative, and more and more radicalized, under the influence of right-wing talk radio as pioneered by Rush Limbaugh (whose national syndication started in 1988).
A short time later, in the mid-90s, a new concept in right-wing TV was pioneered by Rupert Murdoch — and Fox 'News' was born … and accelerated the radicalization.
Together, Limbaugh and Fox "News" worked in synch and tirelessly to undermine modern America and our more equitable society — and deliberately fostered rising hate, racism, and White rage.
Let me repeat that because it's hard to fully 'get' the severity and utter audacity of this far-right takeover: Rush Limbaugh and Fox 'News' deliberately fostered rising hate, racism, and White rage — for decades.
Together, they set the stage for our insanely divided society and our precarious present-day reality, teetering right on the edge of civil war and politically motivated mass violence.
They, and their many copycats, set the stage for the wild insanity of the past decade — which revolved around the rapid rise and terrifying demagoguery and staying power of Donald Trump and MAGA.
The far-right has been getting a 'pass' — and getting away with murder
Some people have commented (not very favorably) about the frequency with which I write about Trump and the pervasive effects of 'Trumpism.' I tend to believe, however, that I probably don't write enough about him and the intense dangers posed by the far right.
I hate to say it, but I think that Trump and the far right are usually given a 'pass' for their horrid and UNpatriotic beliefs and behavior by many Americans — and our feckless media as well — simply because they're … wait for it … mainly White (that is, they get a 'pass' or a sly, knowing wink from many White Americans).
Picture this: Can you imagine the uproar, utter fury, and intensely violent reaction among White Americans if Black folks had said and done even a tenth of what the far right has said and done — including frequent, escalating threats against public officials and even overt violence?
Unfortunately, and very dangerously, the racism and overall 'Whiteness' of the far right lets it fit right in with many White Americans' prejudices. Thus, it's been openly allowed to 'fly under the radar' and get away with murder (sometimes literally) for decades.
But now the chickens are all coming home to roost, as the saying goes — and the shit is about to hit the fan, big time.
Our society feels all 'off' because it IS terribly 'off'
Now, back to my earlier question: Why do our society and our daily lives just feel so wrong or out of joint recently?
I've come to the reluctant and frightening conclusion that our society feels all 'off,' weird, and wrong because it IS 'off' and weird — and going horribly wrong.
White, 'conservative' America doesn't see it that way, of course — rather, they fervently believe that the damn liberals, immigrants, and dark-skinned people are causing all the problems.
Thus, we're stuck with Trump's 'populist' Make America Great Again movement, which aims to restore the U.S. to its former 'greatness' when White men were totally in control, women were subordinate and inferior, and Blacks and Hispanics were even more subordinate and inferior.
The thing that White Americans can't seem to wrap their heads around is that far-right extremism and our burgeoning White supremacist movement are destroying our nation from within, and causing our society to splinter, fracture, and 'go crazy.'
When you pile all this intense social and political conflict and craziness on top of a deluge of online disinformation and looming climate disruptions and disasters — you have a perfect recipe for social breakdown … and all the angst, fear, anger, and mental/emotional breakdown that it engenders.
Of course, I'm not saying that rising far-right extremism is THE sole cause of our current mental anguish, rage, and divisiveness. However — if we observe our entire sociopolitical scene and note what has changed and worsened the most over the past decade, I'd say that the major, dominant change has been the rapid rise and building influence of far-right extremism.
It's not the only cause, for sure — but it IS the most extensive, most damaging proximate cause.
We've joined the ugly ranks of fascism-embracing, 'backsliding' democracies
So wonder no more, my friends, about why the U.S. is in such a dire predicament, or why our mental health is going down the toilet. That's what (predictably) happens when a society — any society — is inundated by right-wing extremism, propaganda, and terrorism; resurgent racism; rampant misogyny; and hordes of entitled bad actors and their horrific power plays.
That's simply what always happens when a society starts to slip into fascism and starts perpetrating increasing racist, anti-LGBTQ+, and/or misogynist atrocities. (And there have been plenty of examples of all three over the past half-decade, in 'red' states across the U.S.)
It's time — way past time, really — that we fully recognize a sobering truth: far-right extremism is a form of social insanity, and it makes any society that hosts, allows, or encourages it increasingly crazy and dangerous.
That's exactly why our society feels so awful, these days — and feels like things are going horribly wrong.
Because it's now glaringly, painfully obvious: things ARE going horribly wrong.
Former counselor and current diligent observer of our sociopolitical scene. I celebrate the spirit AND reason, and try to 'connect the dots' in my writing.
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