Thomas Jefferson Versus The Three Spined Stickleback

I've been trying to figure out why it's suddenly become acceptable amongst our political ruling class (mostly republicans) and their 1% overlords to publicly utter the most vile, bigoted, sexist, homophobic, xenophobic and generally misanthropic of comments as if they were common salutations. It is so common and so widespread of a practice it has spawned a new rhetorical device to close the process: the non-apology apology.

Of course I realize there has long been a babbling brook of bile just under the surface, mostly on right wing talk radio, but for it to suddenly go mainstream and be, if not accepted by substantial portions of society, at least tolerated, and to be reported by the media with the same lack of shock and disgust as the weather, is both surprising and a little disheartening.

In my more optimistic moments I like to think of this era of incivility and vicious personal attacks we've entered as an extinction burst. That's a term psychologists use when a behavior in general decline suddenly increases in frequency for a short period before eventually dying out.

Other times I think the fire hose of venom spewing from certain of our fellow citizens is but another example of the growing callousness of the 21st century American social order. From local politicians like Illinois' Joe Walsh, who accused his opponent Tammy Duckworth of not being a "true hero" even though she had lost both her legs in Iraq, to Mitt Romney's  47% comment, callousness seems to run up and down the political totem. Now it is acceptable for state legislatures to seriously consider taking food away from poor children who don't do well in school; to mull over the benefits of requiring criminal background checks for anyone requesting public assistance; and to subject women to painful and unnecessary medical procedures for having the temerity of thinking their bodies belong to them. And callousness is not confined to the state level as witnessed by Congress failing to be moved by the bloody massacre of innocent children, instead holding steadfast to their commitment to the rights of certain citizens to easily purchase weapons designed for war. Even president Obama, a nominal democrat with all that historically entails, desires to take his exacto-knife to the frayed remains of the social safety net.

Of course, the fact that America has been mostly at war for the last 60 years might have something to do with it. Sociologists find that prolonged war affects everyone, whether they be directly involved in the  brutal undertaking, or indirectly associated, it can have the socially detrimental effect of increasing jingoistic feelings while decreasing personal sensitivity to the necessary everyday demands of community.

Then I read that Americans are the most charitable people on the planet, giving more of their time and money to altruistic causes than any other country. This makes me think of another term. It's one biologists use, called speciation. It is the process by which a sub group becomes isolated from the parent colony and over time develops into an entirely new species. It's not hard to see elements of speciation in American society today. Almost everywhere you look you see people isolating themselves into exclusive groups, from the 1% to the Tea party.

Speciation may have been good for the three spined stickleback, but for a democratic society based on commonalities and operating through compromise and consensus, not so much. So do we get to keep our democracy, or will it evolve into something unrecognizable by those who came before us? Hard to say. Truth is, democracies are never done, they are always works in progress, always evolving. Just ask the people who now live in states allowing gay marriage. The real challenge comes in determining the difference between building on, and  tearing down.