Hate: America’s newest national pastime
Tony Spano"Someone’s got to be oppressed."
 from the musical "Godspell" by Stephen Schwartz
I was a Republican once in my life. This moment of weakness came
during the fifth grade. The 1980 presidential election prompted our
class to hold a mock election between incumbent Democrat Jimmy
Carter, Republican challenger Ronald Reagan and independent John
Anderson. I played Reagan mostly because I had dark hair (at least
mine was natural). I can’t remember the speech I gave, but I won
over my classmates and Reagan won over the country.
One requisite of being a great leader is having a great enemy.
Reagan had the evil empire and Bush had the thief in Baghdad.
Clinton, however, has no definitive bully in some far-off land to
pick on, no enemy to rally the troops. Whom can we, as a nation,
hate?
On April 19, America thought it had found its new enemy. When
the bomb went off in Oklahoma City the first proverbial boys cried
"wolf" Â blaming Arab terrorists. Immediately Americans began
plotting a vengeful attack on a target in the Middle East; FBI
agents sought out Arab and Muslim suspects. With the World Trade
Center and now Oklahoma City, America had two strikes in the game
of "us" vs. "them."
But wait. A suspect is arrested, and he isn’t Arab. He is
American  a white, (presumably) heterosexual, home-grown Joe
Blow American. Our great enemy is (gasp!) one of our own.
Hating one of our own is nothing new. We’ve been doing it ever
since we sent the British packing. It has taken two centuries to
abolish slavery and segregation, though most would agree that
prejudice has not diminished much. Now that major league baseball
has disillusioned its fans, hate could possibly become our new
national pastime. Let’s look at a few examples.
In 1992 while I was attending the University of Colorado at
Boulder, I was flabbergasted by the state’s voter support of an
amendment to prevent the application of anti-discrimination
legislation to sexual orientation. It was an out-and-out assault to
curtail civil rights laws aimed at protecting gay, lesbian and
bisexual citizens.
Colorado’s Amendment 2 closely resembles California’s
Proposition 187. Thankfully, both have been restrained by the
courts. These have been a cloak and dagger attempt to undermine
equal rights and prevent any extension of the anti-discrimination
umbrella while espousing the hate-mongering phrase "special
rights." What’s so special about being protected against job or
housing discrimination? What’s special about providing education or
health treatment to people who contribute to the community?
In the last few weeks since the Oklahoma City attack, we have
been exposed to an underground network of citizen militias existing
in the shadows of society. These groups of American citizens are so
paranoid of a government conspiracy to invade their privacy that
they have organized a force of bodies and weapons to repel an army
 literally.
One faction calls themselves "Patriots." It seems like they are
the antithesis of the very idea. They compare themselves to
American revolutionists who broke us from Britain’s grasp. But
those patriots were fighting for democracy. Our new "patriots" have
found that democracy doesn’t work for them. So how about a little
anarchy?
Right-wing extremism has its grip firmly in place. Look at
another example: the situation of Surgeon General nominee Dr. Henry
Foster. Watching his confirmation hearings has given me a positive
impression of a man genuinely concerned with his vocation as a
doctor. But because of his link to 39 abortions (don’t mention the
10,000 babies delivered), fanatics have charged Capitol Hill,
possibly preventing his nomination from reaching the Senate floor.
The right-wing chokehold has Bob Dole, Phil Gramm and other
Republicans feigning a superficial opposition.
The increasing popularity of acting out hate has grown since
World War II. In the 1950s we had the McCarthy witch-hunts
attacking from the right wing. Not to be outdone by the right, the
’60s had the "radical chic" left wing. The ’70s  well, they
were pretty much a blur. Then the ’80s found itself immersed in a
conservative revolution that has spilled into the ’90s.
The modern right wing demands less government, believing that it
invades our privacy. Then it demands restrictions on abortion
rights and gay rights. The right wing lobbys with a full-court
press to legislate morals. Violence on TV is decried while the ban
on assault weapons is assailed. Good old-fashioned conservatism has
been overrun by what’s been called a "wacko factor" of extremists.
Instead of just shouting "fire!" in our crowded theater, they’ve
become the arsonists.
I’ve never shot a real gun in my life, nor do I intend to.
(Though sometimes while I’m maneuvering my way through L.A. traffic
I reconsider.) We have a constitutional right to "bear arms," to
protect ourselves from the government or each other, whichever the
case. I do not expect the government to come knocking at my door
and invade my privacy (that is, of course, if I’m not harboring
E.T. in my closet). There are those who believe the government or
the United Nations will come knocking so they’ve built up arsenals
and are training to do battle.
We live in a vicious circle that we claim to resist. Murder and
sensationalism is deplored, yet we watch the O.J. trial with morbid
curiosity. Films make more money and TV shows get bigger audiences
when there’s more sex and violence. We pretend to be innocent,
without prejudice or vice.
Whom do you hate? Come on, be honest. Think about it. Isn’t
there someone, something, some idea you can’t stand? You oppose it
(them), you want to annihilate them (it). It’s probably because the
feeling is mutual.
It’s kind of how I feel about the Catholic Church. They (it)
wants to love me and accept me, but calls me a sinner and therefore
insults me. It (they) tells me I can be gay, but I can’t be gay. I
don’t believe in the institution of Catholicism. It’s a pink
elephant I’d rather overlook. But it keeps stepping on my toes,
crossing my path. I want to dismantle it. But don’t get me wrong
 there are good Catholics; they’re just hanging out with a
bad crowd.
Someone’s got to be oppressed. Maybe it would be a dull,
uninteresting world without hate. We’d be so complacent we’d bore
ourselves right into extinction. Existence and survival boils down
to a battle between ideas, beliefs, opinions. In this great
democracy we’re given the ballot box and the soap box. We try to
debate with intellect. But a growing number wants the cartridge box
to speak with a violent tongue. It’s muscle over brain, brawn over
wit.
I like my soap box. I think I’ll keep it  even if I have
to share it with a pink elephant. I just hope it doesn’t shoot
me.
Spano is a second year graduate student in the music department.
E-mail him at MuseSpano@AOL.Com. His columns appear on alternate
Thursdays.