Why Demonization is a major threat to our democracy

What’s happened?

Demonizing the “Other” has come to the forefront of our national consciousness and in other parts of the world as a way for politicians like Donald Trump in the US, Modi in India, and Viktor Orban in Hungary to attain and preserve their power. They seek to lead a mass movement that puts “The Nation” first, which in reality means putting their unquestioned leadership first and foremost. In this context they claim they are the chosen ones who genuinely recognize the threat and only they can protect the people by defeating the demon forces of “the Other.” In many cases, the Other is associated with a religion and its worshipers. The Jews are a classic example. Muslims are another. The ” elephant in the room” or the underlying issue in any discussion of demonization is racism. It permeates every aspect of demonization.  It is the embedded disease that we as a society are constantly fighting.  It’s symptoms break out on the news almost daily.

What’s the result?

Climate of Hate – Demonization inevitably creates an atmosphere of fear and anxiety with hatred directed at perceived enemies of society.  Author Eric Hoffer observed in his book The True Believer: Thoughts on the Nature of Mass Movements:  “Hatred is the most accessible and comprehensive of all the unifying agents. Mass movements can rise and spread without belief in a god, but never without a belief in a devil.”

Polarization – Demonization strives to define the world in black and white terms—good and evil—operating with an attitude of: “You are either with us or against us.”  There is no middle ground but rather two opposing camps. This makes it much easier to rely on cultivated “beliefs” rather than rational thought, considered opinion or established facts.

Pollution of our Language – Labeling former President Obama as a “foreigner” or “satan” is a prime example of language pollution. Describing migrants from other countries who are fleeing wars and persecution as “invaders, rapists and criminals” sets the stage for how such issues should be dealt with.  Demonization allows leaders to speak in terms of “defending our borders,” instead of dealing with a humanitarian crisis. Thus solutions are about “sending in troops to stem the threat” and “building walls” to keep out unwanted refugees.

Why is Demonization such a big threat to our society?

Demonization sets up an endless cycle of hatred and violence against perceived enemies of society. These perceived “enemies” could be native peoples, refugees, immigrants, or minorities of any specific ethnic or religious group. By identifying and demonizing the “enemy”, political and religious leaders hope to unify their followers in a mass movement that gives meaning and purpose to their lives.

Public discourse and discussions about important and even critical issues such as climate change, refugee migrations, and proxy wars quickly devolve into rallying cries shouted by one party against another. The always-on news cycle in cable and Internet social media thrives on and fosters a constant level of conflict that literally drowns out the voices of thoughtful, reasoned persons. There is no conversation between equals…only a battle for supremacy over the Other.

What can we do to stop the threat of Demonization to our Freedom of Worship?

Get educated. Read author and social philosopher Eric Hoffer who has written several books in the 1950s and 1960s that are as relevant today as in his own lifetime. His best known is The True Believer, as well as The Ordeal of Change. Hoffer argues that fanatical and extremist cultural movements, whether religious, social, or national, arise when large numbers of frustrated people, believing their own individual lives to be worthless or spoiled, join a movement demanding radical change. But the real attraction for this population is an escape from the self, not a realization of individual hopes:

Get a better sense of how religion affects politics in America. The PBS series “God in America” should be required viewing for any American who wants to understand how religion has changed our society from it’s founding until today.  Here is a preview.

To further understand the ironies and contradictions that religion brings to our politics, read American theologian Reinhold Niebuhr.  He wrote in The Irony of American History, that “Power always thinks it has a great soul and vast views beyond the comprehension of the weak; and that it is doing God’s service when it is violating all His laws.”