The new Red Menace

When things aren't going well, Americans need to find a bogeyman to blame it on. The 'communists' were an easy target in the 1950s and 1960s, with a real menacing country to blame. After the end of the Cold War, things got murky. There were always hippies and left-wingers, race baiters and internationalists.

Lately, though, the focus on 'Liberals' has been becoming toxic. All someone has to do is suggest Obama has a liberal, left-wing record and it becomes exaggerated to 'extreme left-wing, socialist'. The 'greens' are responsible for gas prices because they've destroyed America's ability to extract all the oil we want. 'Liberal' has become an offensive political charge. How in the world did this happen?

The fruit of this hatred: the man who went into a church in Knoxville yesterday firing a shotgun, killing two and wounding seven more. Why? The police reported this morning it was 'hatred of the liberal movement'. (Knox Views' R. Neal's notes on the press conference.)

So, where's an easy place to find a bunch of 'liberals' to shoot? Why, a Unitarian Universalist Church. They're thick as thieves there. Especially when their kids are putting on a musical.

I'm getting pretty tired of this mindset.

Lots more on this story at Knox Views, where at least one of the contributors is a church attendee. Much more at Knox News.