It is worth remembering that the danger, the threat came not from outside our borders, not from Islamo-terrorists, but from home grown right wing nutters who hate their lawfully elected government and who hate large segments of their fellow Americans.
These extremists are as big a threat now as they were twenty years ago; maybe more so.
These are the voices who want to "take back America", by which they mean to exclude and marginalize large segments of Americans from government, from the economy, and from society. They want to take control, either by skewing the electoral process to give them control, or by violent insurrection if that fails.
It is a thinly veiled code word, a dog whistle, for bias, bigotry, discrimination and exclusion. It is anti-equality. It is anti-diversity. It is anti-immigrant and anti-Native American. It is anti-democracy. It is anti-science. It is anti-environment. It is anti-education. It is frequently anti-Semitic and racist, and anti-feminism and anti-children. It is anti-labor and anti-Unions. It is anti-regulation that prevents injury and unfair practices, excess and abuse.
It is pro-foreign war. It is pro-violence against dissent, and pro-gun. It is pro-theocracy and pro-religious superstition out of the dark ages. It is pro-voter suppression. It is pro-wealth and income inequality. It is pro-conspiracy theories. It is pro-poverty. It is pro-oligarch, and pro-free market / laissez-faire capitalism. It is pro-vigilanism. It is pro-secrecy.
It is conservative, hard right conservative, like those who converged on the Cliven Bundy ranch and on a mine in Oregon. It is an ideology of hate and suspicion, reminiscent of the worst of McCarthyism witch hunts. It is irrationally fearful and reactive rather than pro-active. It is short term oriented rather than long term oriented.
It is fascist, hyper-patriotic, revisionist-history promoting, and authoritarian extremism.
It is anti-American. It is dangerous to us ALL.
bombing victim, 'baby Bailey'
Edward R. Murrah building after bombing
Bombing Memorial
