An Introduction to stoppolarizingtalk.org: Protecting Freedom of Thought When I first began listening to political talk radio (PTR) in the early 1990’s, I was saddened, shocked and alarmed to hear strategies of deeply polarizing propaganda being used by Rush Limbaugh, … Continue reading
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02/27/2012
U.S. Leaders Dehumanize Fellow Americans
On the political talk radio shows of major hosts such as Rush Limbaugh, Glenn Beck and Michael Savage, polarizing linguistic strategies, such as stereotyping, scapegoating and dehumanization, are used as part of a deeply unethical business model. I call it “a business model with political benefits for some,” while the rest of our political culture suffers and is dragged into the rhetorical gutter as others imitate the mega-voices.
Most of the imitators are regional and local talk show hosts, including liberal ones, such as Mike Malloy. Listeners, too, repeat what they hear, and memes promoted from the top-down (such as health care reform being “jammed down the throats of the American people”), show up in blogs and on threads following stories on political issues.
Linguistic strategies of polarization are the currency of propagandists. It is cause for genuine alarm if national representatives or political leaders begin to use them. In 2011 and 2012, this has become the case. Scroll down to read an open letter I mailed to Democratic Representative Maxine Waters, who recently labeled GOP leaders “demons” at the California Democratic Convention. This is in the same mold as Republican Grover Norquist, who labeled Democrats “parasites” at the 2011 Conservative Political Action Conference. In the tradition of demagogues and dictators, language is spewed from the podium to dehumanize those one disagrees with. It is bad enough that dehumanization is used to grab attention on talk shows, where Limbaugh or Beck call liberals “parasites” or “leeches”, but it is truly dangerous when political leaders publicly promote the use of deeply denigrating words. Is it any wonder that, with increasing frequency, dehumanizing labels are used by neighbor against neighbor, in the public square we call the blogosphere? This is the language of ethnic or ideological cleansing. It is tearing at the fabric of democracy.
For a more detailed definition of dehumanization, see http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-dehumanization.htm
Feb. 16, 2012 Kathryn Ruud www.stoppolarizingtalk.org Congresswoman Maxine Waters 2344 Rayburn House Office Bldg. Washington D.C. 20515 Honorable Congresswoman, I am a Democratic voter who agrees with you that GOP policies are “not bringing us together” as you stated from … Continue reading
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Paths to Peace Post-Tucson soul searching not yet done Originally published in the Frederick News-Post March 19, 2011 By Kathryn Ruud Special to the News-Post Kathryn Ruud is a contributing author to the book “At War with Words,” published in … Continue reading
The left and the right do the public a service when they keep an eye on radical statements made on the other side. Responsible Democrats and Republicans also need to make every effort to reject the worst of the polarizing … Continue reading