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When President Joe Biden took to the podium in his hometown of Scranton, Pennsylvania, to campaign for Vice President Kamala Harris, many expected a return to the presidency. Biden, a self-proclaimed unifier “Especially after recent comments calling out tens of millions of Trump supporters from the 2020 election.”garbageIf so, they were disappointed when it turned out to be “.”take him behind the gym“Biden. Speaking through gritted teeth, Biden was excited that he wanted to do it.”smack [Trump] in the buttIt’s clear that Biden couldn’t resist the outrage, even as the Harris campaign was alarmed by his costly gaffe. he is not alone.
It seems like this whole election is kind of political. roid rage. In my book ”An essential right: freedom of speech in a time of anger;” I discuss how angry rhetoric and angry politics have long been part of our history. Politicians often deliberately provoke anger in order to rally voters against their opponents rather than in support of their own policies.
President Trump slams Biden-Harris’ ‘rhetoric’ over recent assassination attempt, says he will ‘save the country’
But Biden’s seeming inability to control his anger is a common feature of this politics of anger. As I wrote in my book, “Anger can be liberating and even addictive. Anger allows us to say and do things we would normally avoid, and even to blame others.” It’s also contagious. Across the country, people are yelling at their neighbors, vandalizing signs, and even assaulting each other. What they don’t want to admit is that they enjoy being angry. they like it.
As someone who has spent more than two decades writing about angry rhetoric and covering presidential elections for various networks, I should be used to these scenes. i haven’t. From the scenes outside the Trump trial in Manhattan to the scenes outside a political rally in Virginia, I find the anger depressing and depressing.
Supporters wearing trash bags arrive for Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump’s campaign rally at First Horizon Coliseum on Saturday, November 2, 2024 in Greensboro, North Carolina. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
But I had a moment of real hope when I flew to New York this weekend to participate in Fox’s election coverage. The man who drove me to the airport told me that he was only a few months away from becoming a citizen, and that he and his wife were very grateful to soon be becoming U.S. citizens. he is from the middle class He has long admired the freedoms of the United States, especially the freedom of speech in the eastern nation. In fact, back home he was constantly in trouble with the government, and his imam warned him not to speak his mind and act “like an American.”
He couldn’t shut up, so he decided to become an American instead.
Then he told me how confused he and his wife were about this election. They love America, but they don’t understand why people are so hateful and angry. “They don’t seem to understand what’s here,” he noted.
As I listened to him talk during the drive, I began to feel something I hadn’t felt in a while: real hope.
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Sometimes the true nation is found among the newest converts. As I discuss in my book, the problem with our democracy is that most of our citizens grew up in a country where basic rights such as freedom of speech were guaranteed. They had no idea that they had no such rights. This man and his wife did. They weren’t born here. They had to flee the country at great risk and expense to become U.S. citizens. They chose us and what we stand for.
People gather on Boston Common during the National Women’s March on Saturday, November 2, 2024 in Boston. (AP Photo/Michael Dwyer) (AP Photo/Michael Dwyer)
They follow other great Americans drawn to these shores by something unique about this country. One was Tom Payne. The man credited with rallying the people behind the revolution landed here two years before the Declaration of Independence. His fame skyrocketed with the publication of his next book. common sense This infuriated some, such as John Adams, who saw him as a ruffian and an unknown mob agitator.
But it was precisely immigration that gave Paine’s words such clarity and power. He believed that this emerging nation was unique to all humanity, a country where its people could live freely without the calcified social, economic, and political restrictions of the Old World. His voice resonated throughout this country because it was so real and authentic.
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On the way to the airport, I heard the same voice. Sometimes the newest among us reminds us of who we are, not only to the rest of the world, but to each other as well.
You never know what will fly out of that gate on election night. I’ve been there before. But half of this country is going to be very upset either way. What we need to remember is that this election does not define us. Anger does not define us. We defined ourselves nearly 250 years ago, and we continue to do so every day as new citizens, like my new friend, come to our shores. There is hope for who we are. . . Even if I forget sometimes.
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