Bullying From The Political Arena

My posts have been mainly about children and bullying. Today, I would like to talk about something a little different.

 

Do political personal attack ads amount to bullying? It's not OK for kids, but it's allowed in politics? What an example! Maybe we should start at the top and work our way down. When our government leaders are bullying, what do we expect from our children?

While legal action may be called for in many cases of bullying, it will not solve the problem at its root... a root which is in ourselves, our children, our society . . . and even our political process. Already our children look out into their world and see bullying in one arena after another. Actually, they don't only see bullying in every arena, they see adults modeling or teaching bullying. In families they see different forms of domestic violence, from blatant and physical to more subtle and verbal or emotional . . . sometimes even under the guise of joking, good parenting, or "for your own good." In schools they don't only see students bullying each other, but they see adults, teachers, bullying students . . . again often under the guise of teaching, helping, and needed discipline.  On television, our children see bullying in perhaps every genre of show... certainly under the guise of entertainment, certainly under the guise of comedy, and certainly under the guise of news.

The list is unfortunately endless. But at this particular time, we need to look at our politics and see what our politics are teaching our children.

What do our children see when they look out into their world and see bullying by our leaders?


We'd like to believe our leaders and potential leaders are teaching our children about democracy, the right to speak, and freedom. But are we willing to see that our politics are teaching our children about bullying? Our politics are normalizing bullying in our culture. If our candidates for leadership in our government are using bullying as part of their campaigns for office, they are making bullying socially acceptable . . . whether they see it, acknowledge it, or deny it.


Some examples:
1. Political campaigns, past and present, have been carried out against candidates in the form of lying and distortion . . . too many to even begin to list here.

2. Bullying against voters and candidates has occurred in elections over the past decade as voters have been prevented from casting their votes, one way or another. For instance, The Washington Times explained that back in 2008 the New Black Panther Party intimidated voters at an election poll in Pennsylvania. In 2012 they returned again.

3. The government sanctioned bullying of the Tea Party, Patriot groups, 911 groups and other Republican organizations by the I.R.S. The reasoning is holding up their requests for tax exempt status. Not one progressive party was scrutinized or denied their tax exempt status.

4. Investor's Business Daily recently gives the reasoning behind the bullying on Aug. 24. 2011 committed by the I.R.S. (Obama's Administration) to the company Gibson Guitar due to the fact that they support the Republican Party. Why wasn't C.F. Martin & Co also fined for using the same wood as Gibson Guitar? The use of the wood to make the guitars was also used by a competing company called C.F. Martin & Co (Democratic supporter) and yet they only received a letter. Gibson Guitar was fined for hundreds of thousands of dollars and also confiscated the wood.
 
5. In 2010 Obama uses the bullying pulpit and bullies the Supreme Court in the State of the Union Address. Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito is seen in the video below shaking his head in defiance and saying "That's not true" in reference to Obama's opinion of the Supreme Court ruling on restricting the lobbyists contributions to candidates running for office.

    

 

 6. More Recently, The New York Times shows a video of President Obama once again using the bullying pulpit to bully the Supreme Court as he deeply expresses how he feels that they made "a mistake" in regards to their ruling on the voting rights act. They struck down two provisions of the the 1965 civil rights bill because it no longer applies in today's world. The south is not the same today as it was back in 1964.   

These previous issues are the latest examples of bullying from the government. All "political" parties from both sides of the aisle have used the bully pulpit. The term "bully pulpit" was coined by Theodore Roosevelt (Republican) which means a terrific platform from which to persuasively advocate an agenda. No matter who uses the pulpit, the issue still remains about bullying. Below are a few instances of our past republican leaders  who have used the bully pulpit, such as:

• During the 20th Century, Theodore Roosevelt used the bully pulpit and gave powerful speeches regarding the railroad regulation and  food inspection.
• In 1981 Ronald Regan used the bully pulpit and persuaded the american public into the acceptance of tax cuts. That could lower deficits and boost the economy. Also, he bullied the public by using scare tactics in order to get an increased military budget by giving speeches warning about communism. Lastly, when Regan made peace with the Soviet Union, the bully pulpit was once again used. For example, he gave a very powerful speech regarding the taking down of the Berlin Wall.

 

• George W. Bush used the bully pulpit for the reform of Social Security back in 2002.  

 

If our leaders in our government are using bullying in the office and are not being stopped, they and those who need to stop them are making bullying socially acceptable. Who are those who need to stop them? We are. We are the adults in our country. It is our responsibility to recognize bullying when it is happening, when it is being normalized, when it is being made socially acceptable . . . even under a guise. It is our responsibility to say 'no' to bullying in whatever form. It is our responsibility to help heal bullying in our country -- individually and communally. It is our responsibility to do that in our own lives, to help our children do that in their lives, and to stand firm in the face of bullying in our country. The challenge is how to do all of that without bullying!