Xenophobia

Xenophobia is defined as the "hatred or fear of foreigners or strangers or of their politics or culture". (Wikipedia)

“Only Thing We Have to Fear Is Fear Itself”(Franklin D. Roosevelt 1932)

Why is it that the conservatives of this country seem to become more xenophobic by the day? They seem to have a constant yearning for the America of their youth? What exactly does that mean? Do they wish to return to the days of McCarthyism and its paranoid searches for a communist under every rock? Do they want a return to segregation and its terrible human rights violations? Why do they preach fear of immigrants, different economics philosophies and different cultures and religions? Are they so insecure in their own beliefs that the feel that they must impose those beliefs upon everyone else through legislation? They speak of individual rights but seek to deny those rights to those who do not believe as they do. They preach freedom yet they are trying to repress those freedoms at an alarming rate.

Many states are seeking to remove the collective bargaining rights of public workers. They also seek to weaken or eliminate many long held labor laws and want to overturn years of progress in environmental legislation and policy simply in order to help their corporate campaign donors increase their already grossly inflated profits and executive salaries.

I have no problem with someone accumulating wealth. What I do have is a problem with the questionable practices by which many have made their fortunes. When a hedge fund manager makes billions of dollars per year I have to ask several questions. Does a person really need to make more money than they can ever spend in a lifetime? How much more could the investors have made if the CEO’s salary was more reasonable? How much more could this abundance of cash accomplish if it remained in the economy instead of a bank account? Granted, there a few of these very wealthy who give back to society in amazing ways but I fear that they are in the minority.

With freedom comes great responsibility! The greatest of those responsibilities is to care for those less fortunate. Conservative philosophy says that individuals and not government should provide for the poor and the ill. In an ideal world this would be wonderful but this is far from an ideal world. Given that this is true, only the resources of the people as a whole, through their government, can provide properly for the needs of those in real need. Yes this is a “socialist” concept but in light of the imperfections and flaws of our capitalist and increasingly corporatist system, some forms of social welfare are needed and must be embraced.

The only way progress into the future is to embrace our fears and conquer them. FDR had it right. So many seem to be captive to their fear of change and that they will never allow the progress to come into their own lives let alone their country.

Remember, if you are not progressing, you are regressing. You have nothing to fear.