A little over two weeks ago, Representative Jim Moran of Virginia made an anti-Semitic comment at an anti-war rally blaming Jewish people for instigating the war against Iraq. (Moran's comment was not only anti-Semitic, but also dead wrong. The man leading the charge for war with Iraq is President George W. Bush, a born-again Christian. Meanwhile, the Jewish community is sharply divided over the war, just like the rest of the country.)
As a result of his remarks, the Democrats took away a leadership position from Moran and he was heavily criticized by both Republicans and Democrats. Several prominent Democrats including Henry Waxman of California called upon him to resign. Moran is now in danger of losing his congressional seat when he faces re-election next term.
A few weeks ago at the University of Virginia (UVA), a female student of mixed race was running against a white male student for student government president when she was assaulted both physically and verbally late at night because of her ethnicity. As a result of the vicious attack, she ended up in the hospital. The student running against her dropped out of the contest to ease the racial tensions on campus, and a rally was held on campus calling for more racial tolerance on campus. This attack was the second racial controversy at UVA this academic term. The first one took place on Halloween when students put on blackface and dressed up in the same type of robes used by the Ku Klux Klan.
Although all of the above incidents had appropriate responses (although I would have liked to see both Lott and Moran resign from Congress), they characterize a very disturbing trend in our nation. With the economy slipping and our nation officially at war with Iraq, there has been a wave of intolerance spreading across the country. It does not seem to matter what party you are from (Lott is a Republican and Moran is a Democrat), you are still susceptible to intolerance.
The insensitivity toward others' beliefs, religions and views is not limited to domestic targets, but has expanded to foreign nations, with the French as the principal target of our attacks. While I was on spring break in South Carolina, I saw hats demonstrating this derision for France. There was one cap that had a donkey with a French flag next to it; the implication being that the French are a pain in the ass. Another hat had a no-smoking sign, except with a French flag in place of a cigarette. In our hostility towards the French, our congressional leaders have been poor role models at best, declaring that the Capitol cafeteria would no longer serve "French" fries, but instead "freedom" fries.
While I am not a great fan of the French (we saved their butts in WWII and this is how they repay us?), I think it is absolutely essential that we be respectful of everyone's race, religion, ethnicity, nationality and viewpoints. I know it is often tempting to look for a scapegoat when things are going wrong in our life or in the nation or even in the world, but we must overcome that temptation. It is especially difficult not to lash out when the media keeps reporting about the rising anti-American sentiment abroad. In this turbulent time, we must remember that free speech is protected in our country, not hate speech. One of President Bush's goals is to bring democracy to Iraq. Yet, if we let hate and intolerance reign in our democratic society, we are a very inferior model for Iraq to follow.
Undoubtedly, there should be passionate debate about the war and the future of our country in the coming weeks and months, but civility, courtesy and respect should not be sacrificed during such discussions.