When Will They Ever Learn?

When I was a senior at Little Rock Central High School back in 1958, I was exposed, for the first time in my young life, to the ugly faces of hatred and bigotry. I looked at those faces every morning and afternoon outside the school, where, inside, we were trying to keep nine frightened black students safe from the crowds that had been bused in to keep the federally mandated integration from going forward.

Then, throughout the '60s, I saw those same hateful expressions on faces in the news and watched in horror as President Kennedy, his brother, Bobby, and Rev. Martin Luther King all were assassinated.

In the past few days, those same twisted, angry faces have surfaced once again, encouraged by Senator John McCain and his running-mate Governor Sarah Palin. In their latest political rallies, Sarah Palin has suggested that Senator Barack Obama "pals around with domestic terrorists", and John McCain has told people in his crowds that Obama is a liar, and doesn't have the judgment or integrity to be President, and they have allowed people in their rallies to scream such imprecations as, "kill him! " "treason!" and "bomb Obama!". Both candidates have just smiled and nodded when these things have occurred.

What McCain and Palin are doing was, at one time, labeled "inciting to riot", and I believe it used to be against the law. Whether it is criminal or not, it has certainly lowered the level of discourse, and without doubt, placed Obama and possibly his family and the family of Joe Biden in mortal danger.

In his defense, John McCain finally, FINALLY, took the microphone away from one of his backers when, in all ignorance, she said she was afraid of Obama because he is an Arab. McCain tried to correct her, very gently, and called for his backers to disagree with Obama, but with respect. In this and other rallies yesterday and today, he has tried to tamp down some of the vitriol, and has been booed for his efforts. Too little, too late? Perhaps. Apparently, Sarah Palin didn't get the hint, because she was still spewing her mean-spirited message at her rallies.

History has shown us that once the forces of hatred are unleashed, it is all but impossible to rein them in. It may be too late, now, but I hope not. If John McCain and Sarah Palin are not able or willing to change their rhetoric, we all need to cross our fingers and hope and pray that nothing unthinkable happens. In the meantime, we can only hope that the Secret Service protection will be beefed up around Barack Obama and Joe Biden and their families.

And, if the worst should happen, well, we'll at least know where to point the finger of blame.