To donate by check, phone, or other method, see our More Ways to Give page.
Supporters of U.S. President Donald Trump, including member of the QAnon conspiracy group Jake Angeli, aka Yellowstone Wolf (C), enter the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021, in Washington, D.C.
Wherever Republicans hail from, we know it is a blackboard sort of world, where reality is easily erased and replaced with whatever they want it to be.
To be a Democrat is to live in a perpetual state of bewilderment as to why anyone would want to be a Republican. Have they always had a burning desire to give Jeff Bezos another tax cut? Or do they think the United States has just too much damn democracy? Perhaps it’s for the love of toxic waste. Or maybe they think it would be cool to hang out with this guy.
Like I said—bewildering.
But be cautious before looking too deeply. Exploring the reality of today’s GOP takes you to a dark place. And the truth hidden in that darkness is that only one thing can explain the whole mishmash of beliefs and resentments that define today’s MAGA GOP. And that one thing is hatred. And they’re not shy about spreading it around.
Republicans today are quick to tear things down (especially people), but only rarely try to build something up. They oppose much and favor little.
They hate the LGBTQ community.
They hate non-white immigrants.
They hate university professors and, increasingly, public-school teachers.
They hate intellectuals.
They hate experts and expertise.
They hate environmentalists.
For the love of God, they even hate Bud Light.
Republicans today are quick to tear things down (especially people), but only rarely try to build something up. They oppose much and favor little. Mostly, they are against anything they believe liberals want, and will fight against it even when it’s something they also favor (for purposes of this article, liberal and Democrat are being used interchangeably, as are Republican and right wing).
Republicans are obsessed with liberals. This at times morphs into madness, as with QAnon and its conspiracy theories of Democrats kidnapping children to drink their blood, while apparently leaving enough time open to also steal the 2020 election from Donald Trump. Talk about multitasking!
But they reserve their deepest hatred exclusively for Hillary Clinton, who they seem to regard as personally responsible for all evil in the world. This animosity has always been odd, given that Hillary isn’t particularly liberal. Still, the intensity of the hatred is undeniable. If the Republican Party still exists in five-billion years, when, according to science, our sun is expected to swell into a red giant star on the way to becoming a white dwarf, destroying any life that remains on Earth, they’re sure to blame Hillary.
Hatred is a beast that requires constant feeding. To meet this demand, right-wing politicos like to target the powerless—the poor, immigrants, LGBTQ kids, and minority groups. Just uncork a cruel stunt of some type directed against people powerless to fight back, then step back and let the minions feast.
These days, of course, the most frequent targets of these stunts are undocumented immigrants.
Undocumented immigrants come to the United States for many reasons. Some are trying to avoid violence and criminal gangs; others hope to escape poverty. They head out in search of a better life for their families, just as most of our ancestors once did. It’s probably true that we can’t accept everyone who wants to come, but aren’t those who try still entitled to be treated with human decency? To not have their children ripped away from them? To not be used as stage props in a stunt in which they are effectively kidnapped and dumped in another part of the country with no arrangements made for their care when they arrive?
Sadly, there is nothing surprising about any of this. As I have said before, for “the far right, cruelty is more than a means to achieving a policy goal—it is often the goal itself. Cruelty for cruelty’s sake—directed against ‘the other,’ a variable collection of liberals, immigrants, and minority groups. It has become the substance, even the soul, of today’s far right. And it is becoming increasingly difficult to differentiate the far right from the rest of the political right on this score.”
So, yes, Democrats are from Mars and Republicans are from God knows where. But wherever Republicans hail from we know it is a blackboard sort of world, where reality is easily erased and replaced with whatever they want it to be—a reality in which Donald Trump won the last election and Ivermectin is a wonder drug.
The problem is this new reality they’ve drawn on the blackboard is an extraordinarily ugly place—a world no sane person would want to visit. It’s a place where nearly all immigrants are rapists and murderers, where transgender teens can simply be ordered to make themselves something other than who they are, and where teachers, instead of trying to educate children, are actually indoctrinating them into a deviant lifestyle. This is a place where compassion is weakness, tolerance is naïveté, ignorance is strength, and a functioning democracy is expendable.
And the problem isn’t that the GOP base wants to live in such a world. It’s that they want to force the rest of us to do the same.
Common Dreams is powered by optimists who believe in the power of informed and engaged citizens to ignite and enact change to make the world a better place. We're hundreds of thousands strong, but every single supporter makes the difference. Your contribution supports this bold media model—free, independent, and dedicated to reporting the facts every day. Stand with us in the fight for economic equality, social justice, human rights, and a more sustainable future. As a people-powered nonprofit news outlet, we cover the issues the corporate media never will. Join with us today! |
To be a Democrat is to live in a perpetual state of bewilderment as to why anyone would want to be a Republican. Have they always had a burning desire to give Jeff Bezos another tax cut? Or do they think the United States has just too much damn democracy? Perhaps it’s for the love of toxic waste. Or maybe they think it would be cool to hang out with this guy.
Like I said—bewildering.
But be cautious before looking too deeply. Exploring the reality of today’s GOP takes you to a dark place. And the truth hidden in that darkness is that only one thing can explain the whole mishmash of beliefs and resentments that define today’s MAGA GOP. And that one thing is hatred. And they’re not shy about spreading it around.
Republicans today are quick to tear things down (especially people), but only rarely try to build something up. They oppose much and favor little.
They hate the LGBTQ community.
They hate non-white immigrants.
They hate university professors and, increasingly, public-school teachers.
They hate intellectuals.
They hate experts and expertise.
They hate environmentalists.
For the love of God, they even hate Bud Light.
Republicans today are quick to tear things down (especially people), but only rarely try to build something up. They oppose much and favor little. Mostly, they are against anything they believe liberals want, and will fight against it even when it’s something they also favor (for purposes of this article, liberal and Democrat are being used interchangeably, as are Republican and right wing).
Republicans are obsessed with liberals. This at times morphs into madness, as with QAnon and its conspiracy theories of Democrats kidnapping children to drink their blood, while apparently leaving enough time open to also steal the 2020 election from Donald Trump. Talk about multitasking!
But they reserve their deepest hatred exclusively for Hillary Clinton, who they seem to regard as personally responsible for all evil in the world. This animosity has always been odd, given that Hillary isn’t particularly liberal. Still, the intensity of the hatred is undeniable. If the Republican Party still exists in five-billion years, when, according to science, our sun is expected to swell into a red giant star on the way to becoming a white dwarf, destroying any life that remains on Earth, they’re sure to blame Hillary.
Hatred is a beast that requires constant feeding. To meet this demand, right-wing politicos like to target the powerless—the poor, immigrants, LGBTQ kids, and minority groups. Just uncork a cruel stunt of some type directed against people powerless to fight back, then step back and let the minions feast.
These days, of course, the most frequent targets of these stunts are undocumented immigrants.
Undocumented immigrants come to the United States for many reasons. Some are trying to avoid violence and criminal gangs; others hope to escape poverty. They head out in search of a better life for their families, just as most of our ancestors once did. It’s probably true that we can’t accept everyone who wants to come, but aren’t those who try still entitled to be treated with human decency? To not have their children ripped away from them? To not be used as stage props in a stunt in which they are effectively kidnapped and dumped in another part of the country with no arrangements made for their care when they arrive?
Sadly, there is nothing surprising about any of this. As I have said before, for “the far right, cruelty is more than a means to achieving a policy goal—it is often the goal itself. Cruelty for cruelty’s sake—directed against ‘the other,’ a variable collection of liberals, immigrants, and minority groups. It has become the substance, even the soul, of today’s far right. And it is becoming increasingly difficult to differentiate the far right from the rest of the political right on this score.”
So, yes, Democrats are from Mars and Republicans are from God knows where. But wherever Republicans hail from we know it is a blackboard sort of world, where reality is easily erased and replaced with whatever they want it to be—a reality in which Donald Trump won the last election and Ivermectin is a wonder drug.
The problem is this new reality they’ve drawn on the blackboard is an extraordinarily ugly place—a world no sane person would want to visit. It’s a place where nearly all immigrants are rapists and murderers, where transgender teens can simply be ordered to make themselves something other than who they are, and where teachers, instead of trying to educate children, are actually indoctrinating them into a deviant lifestyle. This is a place where compassion is weakness, tolerance is naïveté, ignorance is strength, and a functioning democracy is expendable.
And the problem isn’t that the GOP base wants to live in such a world. It’s that they want to force the rest of us to do the same.
To be a Democrat is to live in a perpetual state of bewilderment as to why anyone would want to be a Republican. Have they always had a burning desire to give Jeff Bezos another tax cut? Or do they think the United States has just too much damn democracy? Perhaps it’s for the love of toxic waste. Or maybe they think it would be cool to hang out with this guy.
Like I said—bewildering.
But be cautious before looking too deeply. Exploring the reality of today’s GOP takes you to a dark place. And the truth hidden in that darkness is that only one thing can explain the whole mishmash of beliefs and resentments that define today’s MAGA GOP. And that one thing is hatred. And they’re not shy about spreading it around.
Republicans today are quick to tear things down (especially people), but only rarely try to build something up. They oppose much and favor little.
They hate the LGBTQ community.
They hate non-white immigrants.
They hate university professors and, increasingly, public-school teachers.
They hate intellectuals.
They hate experts and expertise.
They hate environmentalists.
For the love of God, they even hate Bud Light.
Republicans today are quick to tear things down (especially people), but only rarely try to build something up. They oppose much and favor little. Mostly, they are against anything they believe liberals want, and will fight against it even when it’s something they also favor (for purposes of this article, liberal and Democrat are being used interchangeably, as are Republican and right wing).
Republicans are obsessed with liberals. This at times morphs into madness, as with QAnon and its conspiracy theories of Democrats kidnapping children to drink their blood, while apparently leaving enough time open to also steal the 2020 election from Donald Trump. Talk about multitasking!
But they reserve their deepest hatred exclusively for Hillary Clinton, who they seem to regard as personally responsible for all evil in the world. This animosity has always been odd, given that Hillary isn’t particularly liberal. Still, the intensity of the hatred is undeniable. If the Republican Party still exists in five-billion years, when, according to science, our sun is expected to swell into a red giant star on the way to becoming a white dwarf, destroying any life that remains on Earth, they’re sure to blame Hillary.
Hatred is a beast that requires constant feeding. To meet this demand, right-wing politicos like to target the powerless—the poor, immigrants, LGBTQ kids, and minority groups. Just uncork a cruel stunt of some type directed against people powerless to fight back, then step back and let the minions feast.
These days, of course, the most frequent targets of these stunts are undocumented immigrants.
Undocumented immigrants come to the United States for many reasons. Some are trying to avoid violence and criminal gangs; others hope to escape poverty. They head out in search of a better life for their families, just as most of our ancestors once did. It’s probably true that we can’t accept everyone who wants to come, but aren’t those who try still entitled to be treated with human decency? To not have their children ripped away from them? To not be used as stage props in a stunt in which they are effectively kidnapped and dumped in another part of the country with no arrangements made for their care when they arrive?
Sadly, there is nothing surprising about any of this. As I have said before, for “the far right, cruelty is more than a means to achieving a policy goal—it is often the goal itself. Cruelty for cruelty’s sake—directed against ‘the other,’ a variable collection of liberals, immigrants, and minority groups. It has become the substance, even the soul, of today’s far right. And it is becoming increasingly difficult to differentiate the far right from the rest of the political right on this score.”
So, yes, Democrats are from Mars and Republicans are from God knows where. But wherever Republicans hail from we know it is a blackboard sort of world, where reality is easily erased and replaced with whatever they want it to be—a reality in which Donald Trump won the last election and Ivermectin is a wonder drug.
The problem is this new reality they’ve drawn on the blackboard is an extraordinarily ugly place—a world no sane person would want to visit. It’s a place where nearly all immigrants are rapists and murderers, where transgender teens can simply be ordered to make themselves something other than who they are, and where teachers, instead of trying to educate children, are actually indoctrinating them into a deviant lifestyle. This is a place where compassion is weakness, tolerance is naïveté, ignorance is strength, and a functioning democracy is expendable.
And the problem isn’t that the GOP base wants to live in such a world. It’s that they want to force the rest of us to do the same.
