The hysterical fringe is on a rampage

by David Grand
May 6, 2009

That's a catch-all phrase I've always used to describe the fear and hate-mongers, who come out from under their rocks every now and then in an effort to foment doubts in the public's mind about their future and, yes, even their survival.

The first time it reared its ugly head in my lifetime was in the 1950's, when the country endured one of the low point in its history, caught up in the so-called "Red-scare." (To me, it was a modern-day version of the Puritan's Salem Witch hunt trials in 1692.)

Championed by Sen. Joseph McCarthy (R-Wisconsin) and the House Un-American Committee, their crusade to root out Communists and "Commie sympathizers" from the government, and wherever else they may be (especially in the film industry), created a climate of sheer terror throughout the nation, where one's loyalty to the United States was-shades of Nazi Germany-subject to being questioned by neighbors and associates alike.

It died a slow death, but left in its wake countless lives and careers ruined by false accusations and baseless rumors.

Now, because of what I was witness to back then, my radar antenna quickly picks up on any signs of forthcoming social upheaval.

But once Obama was nominated by his party for the highest office in the land, I knew I'd be reliving that dreadful experience, albeit for different reasons and with a different set of characters spearheading it.

For while the anti-Obama movement was intensified by the anxiety many felt over the nation's financial crisis, it was spawned from racism, no "if's-and's-or but's" about it.

Well before he took the oath of office, the cultural resentment had been ignited. That was clearly illustrated by the rabid crowds cheering Sarah Palin on at every campaign rally, with her fear-mongering warnings about Obama's threatening "otherness."

Since his election, those Doomsday prophets-a la Rush Limbaugh, Bill O'Reilly, Sean Hannity and Glenn Beck-have proudly assumed the task of keeping the fire raging, who daily play out all kinds of future disaster scenarios for America under the Obama administration.

As a parenthetical note, I can't say that I'm surprised that some local writers have jumped on that harum-scarum bandwagon. But they chose a different line of attack against Obama than the above radio and TV personalities, with one warning of Fascism taking over the country, and the other saying how proud Hitler and Mussolini would be of Obama's dictatorial behavior. (Neither is deserving of a response.)

But I'm confident, that all of the ranting and raving by some over their seeing a black man romping with his family and dog on the White House lawn and flying in Air Force 1 will subside (hopefully sooner rather than later). And when it does, I can then consign my writings of these gut-retching times to my memory box, next to those of the McCarthy era.