Caffeinated Politics

I watched the most absurd exchange between ABC’s Martha Raddatz and an archetypal example of the anti-Mensa crowd that makes up MAGA. That episode of This Week With George Stephanopoulos was all the proof we need this week of what happens when we don’t heed the call to properly educate people in our schools. Barbara VanSyckel proved to be a complete unadulterated moron. She even added where she gets her crack pipe material. Fox News.

This woman looks old enough to have recalled her mother’s generation being concerned about the canard of what would happen if our nation elected a Catholic to the White House in 1960. To then have her leap to the idea that if someone is elected to office and happens to be Muslim, they must secretly be plotting to impose Sharia law gives a real clue as to the low IQ of these people. She admits to watching Fox News and cannot stop herself from being a part of that uneducated conservative crowd who will regurgitate an idiotic idea if given the chance on national television.

Unlike VanSyckel, New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani is known for his intelligence, popularity, thoughtfulness, empathy, and ability to speak to a diverse city (and nation) comprised of every race, religion, language, and background imaginable. But to the bigoted and laughable VanSyckel, none of those things matter. To this luminary in GOP politics in Michigan, the only thing that matters is the mayor’s faith. That is overt prejudice wrapped in truly ugly and revolting partisanship.

Here is an idea for VanSyckel to ponder. One she must have missed when she skipped every other chapter in civics class. The beauty of American democracy (and this comes from my recollection of James Winn, who pounded civics home when I was 14) has always been that citizens are judged by their words and actions. We elect people based on their ideas, their competence, and their record. If an elected official advocates a policy, then debate the policy. If an officeholder makes a poor decision, criticize the decision. If someone abuses power, hold them accountable. But accusing people of harboring secret intentions merely because of the faith they practice is demonizing and purely xenophobic.

As I watched her remarks, and then replayed them for being so odious, I thought of a scarecrow. (I will let readers make their own conclusion as to why I came to that viewpoint.) But think about it. It is easier for her to punch an imaginary threat, like a scrrecrow than confront real issues plaguing our nation, like high prices for groceries, gasoline, homes, and medical care. Excessive grifting from the Trump family and their abuse of our institutional norms. She had no evidence of the outright lies she was spewing.

America has millions of Muslim citizens. They serve in the military. They teach in schools. They own businesses. They coach Little League teams. They drive delivery trucks, serve on city councils, and volunteer at food pantries. They are as politically diverse as every other religious group in the country.

That teacher from my years at Tri-County Schools in Plainfield instilled in his students that religious liberty means more than protecting the faith we understand. It means protecting the faith of the neighbor who worships differently than we do. It means resisting the urge, as VanSyckel did, to assume the worst about people because of their last name, their place of worship, or their faith.

That woman attracted attention this morning, and as such, I turned her into a learning moment.