Partisanship Gone Wild
by: Kenneth Simon ‘11Political pundits use the tragedy in Haiti to take shots at their opponents
I usually use this column to give my take on certain political issues, but the time for a column focused solely on politics is not now. I wish I could say the same for Rachel Maddow, Rush Limbaugh, and Pat Robertson. The sobering scenes following the 7.0 magnitude earthquake, which both destroyed the already subpar infrastructure of Haiti and claimed the lives of thousands of Haitians, serves as a reminder that destruction can strike at anytime and anywhere, but for Maddow, Limbaugh, and Robertson this time served as a chance to make partisan and, in the case of Robertson, hateful statements. For some reason many individuals in the media believe that the American people will stand by such distasteful partisan statements during times of international crisis.
Maddow on her MSNBC show The Rachel Maddow Show decided that the Haiti incident was not above the left-wing partisan rancor usually found on her show. In discussing the situation in Haiti Maddow decided to point out that the response to Haiti was due to the fact that the Obama administration decided to base their foreign policy as the antithesis to the foreign policy seen in the previous Bush administration. Nobody disagrees that the Obama administration has positioned its foreign policy as the antithesis to that of the previous Bush administration, but the notion that this political reason is responsible for America’s swift and appropriate response is irresponsible. Maddow knows that the Bush administration pledged $950 million for humanitarian relief and reconstruction in the Asian nations devastated by the tsunami in 2004. The inability to avoid partisan posturing in the aftermath of the earthquake in Haiti was not solely a problem for the left.
Conservative radio host Rush Limbaugh made remarks that were so inane that a response is probably unnecessary. Limbaugh urged his listeners not to donate to assist those attempting to deal with the Haiti disaster noting that an “income tax” is enough of a donation. Limbaugh went on to assert that Obama’s help for Haiti is a simple attempt to insure that his base, specifically black people, stay with him in 2012. Limbaugh’s statements are truly disgraceful. I simply wonder how any sensible individual can be so callous when seeing the pictures of children who had parents the day before being orphaned or the parents who are desperate to find their child in the rubble of a fallen building. There may be a possibility that Limbaugh’s statements were not the most outrageous following the disaster. Quite possibly the most repugnant statements regarding Haiti had to be those made by televangelist and former Presidential candidate Pat Robertson. Robertson felt that this is what the Haitians deserved because they made “a pact with the devil” and went on to say that the only way to avoid such natural disasters in the future is for Haiti to have a “great turning to God.”
As I attended church this past Sunday, Pastor Frank Potter noted that he did not feel it was appropriate to make such statements. Going on to assert that while he disagrees with the voodoo practiced by many in Haiti we, as Christians, must lift the fallen and not seek to find some glory in the tragedy of others. I found the true Christian spirit and ethos to be embodied by Pastor Potter and not Pat Robertson. Robertson has made such statements in the past after both the attacks of September 11, 2001 and the tragedy caused by Hurricane Katrina. The simple ability to show a respect for humanity seems to elude Mr. Robertson.
America and the rest of the world should do as much as possible to help the individuals adversely affected by the disaster in Haiti and with the death toll in the thousands much help is needed. Maddow, Limbaugh, and Robertson decided that partisanship should never be thrown to the side for any reason, even death. Ultimately, we must raise the level of discourse in this country and around the world. The thought that such statements are acceptable to the American public shows how these individuals and many others in the media believe that the American public would have no problem with showing partisanship even in the most objectionable ways. We, as Americans, will be smart to heed the deeds of former Presidents Bush and Clinton who put partisanship aside in favor of a greater cause: the cause of humanity. The lesson during this week, a week in which we celebrated Martin Luther King Jr. Day, is that we must come to respect each other much more than we currently do. Until that time, we will continue to see individuals like Maddow, Limbaugh, and Robertson believe that they can make statements with such partisan rancor during this truly tragic time for Haiti.
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