Extremism in the U.S.

Sunstein’s Going to Extremes was a very interesting book that discussed how like-minded people act in groups. Given the current political climate, it was extremely relevant to what is happening in this country right now. I am a liberal, so my view may be a little biased, but in my opinion, two groups were formed directly from this phenomenon. One is the Tea Partiers, and one is the Westboro Baptist Church. The extremism from the Tea Party is a huge issue because as they converse with “regular” Republicans, they effectively push the views of the Republicans even further right. The implications of this shift were highlighted in a study done by John Avlon of Newsweek magazine. According to the study, 67% of Republicans (40% of America) believe that Obama is a socialist, 45% (25% overall) believe Obama was not born in the U.S., 57% (32% overall) believe he is a Muslim, 24% (14% overall) say that he “may be the Antichrist,” and 38% (20% overall) says “Obama is doing many of the things that Hitler did.” These claims are ridiculous, and take away from the real issues of the country. I think the most ridiculous ones are the ones relating him to the Antichrist and Hitler. One thing that Hitler was known for was his use of propaganda. He knew that if you read something over and over enough times, eventually you will take it as a truth. I can’t think of anything Obama has done that makes him anything like Hitler, but largely extreme Republicans such as Glenn Beck and Rush Limbaugh use this type of propaganda to sway the minds of voters. Republicans control 80% of talk radio, and by people listening to all of these ridiculous claims on a regular basis, many are taking them all as fact without looking further into them at all. If this trend of blindly accepting wild claims continues, it good have terrible repercussions for our country.