Over the last year, we’ve heard over and over again that civility is dead, but it’s important to know that Donald Trump is not the one who murdered it.
Discourse came crashing down thanks in large part to Democrats’ idea to use identity politics as a party platform. The left spent years calling blue collar workers — and the majority of the middle of the country — bigots, racists, homophobes, sexists, Islamophobes and white supremacists.
Leftists led riots, attacked Trump supporters, called for his assassination, accused Trump of being the new Hitler and the fringe of left-wing politics organized murderous ambushes of police officers.
Trump did not provoke any of these responses, unless you argue that his questionable behavior gives people carte blanche to act however they want to.
Take Georgetown University associate professor C. Christine Fair’s appalling behavior toward a fellow liberal, for example. (RELATED: ‘F**K YOU. GO TO HELL’: Georgetown Prof Loses It On Muslim Trump Voter)
A summary of Fair’s month-plus interaction with former colleague Asra Q. Nomani is this: Nomani wrote an op-ed in The Washington Post explaining why she, as a Muslim woman and “long-time liberal,” voted for Trump. Fair went nuclear on Twitter and Facebook, calling Nomani a “psycho shrew,” “wretch” and “clueless dolt.” She summed up her roiling anger by telling Nomani, “FUCK YOU. GO TO HELL.” Fair seems to have a history of this sort of thing, calling a man a “charlatan” because he didn’t leave a favorable review on her book and allegedly shouting at a college student about the election on a plane. (RELATED: ‘Psycho Shrew’: Georgetown Prof Doubles Down After Attacking Muslim Trump Voter)
The defenses people gave for Fair’s behavior? I wrote fake news and I cherry-picked only the meanest things she said.
Democrats always intended for it to be an ugly, divisive election. The plan: tear the country apart on racial, gender and religious lines; blame Republicans for the ensuing firestorm; win the election and use that as proof that Republicans are the cause of America’s discord.
Media talking heads and writers bemoaned the death of civility, and then turned around and called Trump supporters white supremacists and neo-Nazis. President Barack Obama, who has mocked Trump on multiple occasions, also called for more civility.
They failed to win the election, but are still trying to complete their plan by putting all the blame on Trump. Calls to heal the nation are met by celebrities boycotting the inauguration and attacking anyone who’s rumored to possibly perform. Left leaders like Hillary Clinton and Sen. Harry Reid are either staying silent or actively stoking tensions. Liberals like Fair are lashing out at anyone who steps outside their prescribed worldview — including fellow liberals like Nomani.
Donald Trump is a symptom of a larger problem Democrats created, and it’s unclear if they’ve recognized it is a problem. Instead of doing soul-searching after Hillary’s crushing defeat, Democrats are doubling down on identity politics and blaming everyone except themselves.
Don’t blame Trump for the death of civil discourse, Democrats murdered it.