Chris Hayes

I suppose it was a week or two ago, I saw MSNBC host Chris Hayes—not on his own show but on another MSNBC program—and he was talking about the growing contempt of a number of Republicans for the American public following President Obama ‘s decisive victory over Mitt Romney. Republican  leaders like Herman Cain were classifying the American people who voted for president Obama as being ignorant and stupid. Hayes said that that’s not the way one is supposed to behave when one is the minority party in a democracy. The minority party is supposed to simply “soldier on”: fight peacefully, nonviolently, civilly and democratically. You’re not supposed to insult , never mind oppress the public.

It was a brilliant statement by Hayes, but it made me uncomfortable because I’d been bashing the American public for years for supporting Ronald Reagan and both George Bush’s  and for listening to the likes of Rush Limbaugh and Sarah Palin. Leftist intellectuals can also be accused of hurting the public when it fails to vote for the left’s desired candidate, party or ideology. It woke me up to the reality that no matter how angry I am at the state of the union, the fact is, I’ve been a bad boy politically.

Whether I’ll now be like King or Gandhi or the Dali Lama and be a nice and serene leader, I’m not sure. Love should be the tool for creating change, not anger and hate. But is hard not be partisan in this political climate, especially when  unions and grassroots  organizations that defend the weak are dismissed by Republicans and even Independents as “special interests”, as opposed to being “of the people, by the people, for the people”.

So I have to work this out—my desire to be civil and democratic and my anger at people who have contempt for special interests, especially left wing special interests. I pray that I emerge a better person.

Craig R. Bayer 2/28/13