The Politics of Hate

Below is a commentary I wrote for GrassRoots after a past legislative session:

The Politics of Hate
By: Don Guymon

Hate is the strongest word in the English language, but it has become the favorite word of many on the left.

For the ninth straight year, hate crimes legislation reared its ugly head. News media outlets attempted to whip Utahns into frenzy by making them believe that they are all at risk if hate crime laws do not pass. Stories fill the air and pages of our newspapers about individuals who have suffered persecution. These stories routinely fail to acknowledge that these deplorable acts are already against the law.

When this legislation fails each session, these same institutions accuse those who opposed this legislation of being hateful.

Yet the accusations of hate do not stop there. Take for example last November’s debate over Amendment Three, which declared that marriage in the state of Utah would be between a man and a woman. This is how marriage has been defined since the beginning of time, yet many in Utah just recently came to the knowledge that if you believe in traditional values you must be guilty of hate.

It is ironic that some people supported both Amendment Three and hate crimes. What is truly scary is how easily the term hate was thrown out. One is left to ask the questions of those on the left, “If you supported Amendment Three, are you guilty of a hate crime?”

When one looks around the world, one sees instances where those who have stood up for traditional values have faced criminal prosecution. While we have not seen this yet in the United States, it appears that many would place us down the slippery slope where if one professes any moral values they risk being thrown in jail.

Yet, the labeling of hate doesn’t stop there. We recently learned that if one supports public property rights and opposes the transfer of tax dollars from the public to private enterprise one is also hateful.

If one supports the rule of law then they must be a hateful person. Individuals who believe only lawful citizens should receive privileges such as driver’s licenses and instate tuition are routinely labeled as hateful and racist.

Sen. Curt Bramble (R-UT) sponsored S.B. 227, which reformed Redevelopment Agencies. RDA abuse has run rampant in many years, as individuals have seen their property taken to be most confiscated to build large retail projects. Another project targeted for RDA money was a soccer stadium for Salt Lake City’s newest entry into the Major League of Soccer.

Bramble’s family woke up one morning to find messages of hate written on their driveway and a soccer ball with a hateful message sitting on his family’s porch. One of the messages stated, “You hate soccer.”

It is ironic that no where did I find any mention in any media outlet about the possibility of this being a hate crime, because evidently legislators who sponsor good legislation are not a protected group.

When talking about hate, attacks on family never seem to be hateful. The past two sessions, several good bills to protect the rights of families have come before the legislature and not been passed. Rep. Mike Morley (R-UT) introduced H.B. 42 which prevents school personnel from recommending psychotropic drugs to parents. Even worse, if parents do not follow the recommendations of school personnel they risk the chance of their children being permanently removed from their families. Why are attacks such as this not considered hateful?

Yet when Governor Huntsman vetoed this excellent piece of legislation nobody ever accused Huntsman of hating families.

Instead, those who routinely support families are the ones labeled as hateful. Since the left routinely lets us know that their intrusion into families lives, “Is for the children.”

When good family legislation, such as Morley’s, is introduced the left routinely tells us that we can’t trust parents. They argue that legislation which protects parents who choose to home school their children will hurt the children. They argue that legislation which protects parents’ rights when threatened with having their families involuntarily split apart will hurt children.

What the left has forgotten is the word love. While occasionally some parents put their children in harm’s way, the vast majority of parents love their children and want what is best for them. Because they love their children, government should get out of the way and allow them to raise their children to the best of their abilities.

Unfortunately, the left has become so focused on hate they do not believe that anyone, but themselves is capable of feeling or showing love.

In reality, they themselves should look in the mirror and ask themselves if their behavior is not truly the behavior that is hateful.