For your consideration: How about we declare an annual SNO Day for America. This would be a day when all of us would try to SPEAK NICELY ONLY.
Do you think this is asking too much? If so, maybe we are in more trouble than we know.
The air of America teems with hatred. You do know this. You hear and see and read the hatred.
Count the vile names people call our presidents of late. The latest is “the Grand Wizard of the White House.” He is racist. And homophobic. And a white-supremacist cretin. And an f-in mother f-er. Such vitriol – and only for starters. If I list the names his enemies have called him in public I would need the rest of this column.
Consider the hatred we hear from politicians, Hollywood stars, sports stars, tv commentators, analysts, spokes-people. They attack people who they disagree with in vicious, tasteless, poisonous ways. Our most popular current affairs programs are non-stop attacks. They slop-over with vitriol.
Check out the sewage that courses through social media. Read reader reaction to articles on the net. People don’t just disagree with something a columnist writes. They vilify him or her. They scoop up terms from septic tanks and fling them at anyone who does not share their views.
We have just had death threats against kids who look like white preppies, who wore MAGA hats. One celeb offered oral sex to anyone who would punch them out. Other celebs called for doxing them. That is, revealing their names and addresses so that mobs could harass them and their families.
We have hate groups at every demo, parade and event. We suffered through the total trashing of a nominee for the Supreme Court. We witness creatures from the world of info-tainment laugh at the idea of beheadings. They openly suggest violence against people who disagree with them.
Many on the left blame these displays of hatred on Trump. That is, the strong feelings he inspires. When they do they face a predicament. That is because they also claim the right rained hatred upon Obama and Hillary. They cannot have it both ways.
Hatred. We need to declare a SNO Day from it. I propose a day when we do our damnedest to turn our backs on this hatred. A day when we vow to avoid barbaric, uncivil behavior. A day when we Speak Nicely Only.
One day. A day when we would try to focus on only the good things. The positive things in our lives. The good aspects of this country. The progress we have made on our problems. The finer qualities of the people who cross our path.
This could be a day when our leaders would speak to us of things positive in this land. Our teachers and profs could do the same. They could encourage their students to follow suit.
I know, I know, this sounds too dreamy. Unrealistic. Too idealistic by half. But would a SNO Day be any more idealistic than Thanksgiving? Or Martin Luther King Day? Or Christmas? We encourage each other on these days to pause in our everyday thinking. To set aside differences. To embrace the spirits of giving thanks, brotherly love and goodwill toward all. (This column was inspired by the hatred that filled the air on our recent MLK Day – when one politician called our president the Grand Wizard.)
A SNO Day might help many see how vicious the atmosphere of America has become for the rest of the year. The contrast might help us appreciate the high levels of hate we have come to see as normal. It might inspire or embarrass some to reflect on the hatred in which they wallow.
Let’s face it. We have become an uncivil lot. Uncivil in that we don’t care who we offend. Too many of us are proud that we have offended others with vicious names and language and suggestion. Terms like racist, dumb-ass, f-wit, a-wipe, imbecile, ho, bitch, trip off our savage and sadistic tongues as easily as “Good-mornin’.”
Name-calling has become our national pastime. I do not exaggerate. Can you think of a name our president has NOT been called? Or that Obama was not called? Can you think of names that have not been flung at Christians? At those who question climate change? At those who believe in civil-unions instead of same-sex marriages? Or those who believe the opposite? At those who believe we should build a border wall? Or not?
An annual SNO Day could be a day when media pledge to avoid negative news and name calling. A day when they refuse to cover anyone spewing nastiness. One day.
A SNO Day could simply be a breathing spell from the smog of negativity and hate. It could be a day when we resolve to clean up our act. To clean up our language. To clean up our thinking.
PS: You can buy my novel THE LAST COLUMNIST on Amazon. You can watch my plays “Tales From The Empire” at the website tomasinmorgan.com.
From Tom…as in Morgan.
Find Tom on Facebook. You can write to Tom at tomasinmorgan@yahoo.com.