For the second time in a week, we’ve translated a foreign press article about the American right and its resistance to health reform – and the results haven’t been encouraging. In this article from Switzerland’s Nachrichten, columnist Patrik Etschmayer writes that the ‘insanity’ on the U.S. right-wing and specifically Fox News, has spread to Europe – and is squeezing out leaders who are willing to compromise on both the left and the right.
For Nachrichten, Patrik Etschmayer writes in part:
U.S. health care reform went through, and for us in Europe has no major consequences, even if it represents a revolutionary upheaval for the U.S. We were struck, much more than by the law itself, by the fierce debate and the partly violent reactions that followed the law’s adoption. Broken windows at the homes of lawmakers and even death threats are just the tip of an ugly iceberg of hatred, paranoia and racism. And it keeps getting worse. A poll by market research institute Harris Interactive illustrates this.
For example, 57 percent of Republicans surveyed believe that Barack Obama is a Muslim, 51 percent believe that he would like to hand sovereignty over to a one-world government, 38 percent think that Obama is doing, “many things that Hitler did,” 22 percent are of the opinion that he wants the “terrorists to win,” and – here’s a real doozy – 24 percent of Republicans surveyed believe that Barack Obama could be the Antichrist!
Sure, polls must always be regarded with a certain degree of skepticism. But even then, the mentality of the Republican electorate appears to have rapidly left the ground of reality for a sphere of hate-filled madness. The consequences of this insanity are terrifying.
Policy should be made on the basis of the real world and not ideological delusion. Such dissent, which is well beyond reason, weakens democracy and weakens the rights of the people. Large corporations, not least, benefit from a weakened state, as they are then better able to assert their interests, usually supporting both sides in order to keep the fires burning.
But as frightening as the U.S. example appears to be, it has become established and spread to Europe. In almost every important debate – whether on immigration or the integration of foreigners, climate change, economics, energy, and education policy, here, too, facts are being twisted, falsified, or even newly-invented according to the party line. … This affects the left and the right. It’s no coincidence that the political center, where compromises were formerly sought and frequently found, is increasingly being suppressed.
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