Of Hank Williams Jr. and Enemies

The worst part of what Hank Williams Jr. said in his interview on Fox & Friends has nothing to do with Hitler. If you somehow missed it, Williams said John Boehner playing golf with President Obama was like the Prime Minister of Israel golfing with Hitler. The reference to Hitler was stupid. The general rule is that any reference to Hitler is stupid. This is no exception. It’s not stupid, however, that I’m most concerned with. Another general rule is when you say something this stupid you shouldn’t try to explain what you were thinking. This was no exception. It was great, however, because Williams’ explanation revealed the real problem. Immediately after making this great comparison, he said “they’re the enemy” of Obama and Biden. Later he explained further: "Some of us have strong opinions and are often misunderstood. My analogy was extreme -- but it was to make a point. I was simply trying to explain how stupid it seemed to me -- how ludicrous that pairing was. They're polar opposites and it made no sense. They don't see eye-to-eye and never will.” The truth is that the idea of a Democrat and a Republican playing golf together isn’t ludicrous. What is ludicrous is the idea that people on opposite sides of the political spectrum should be enemies … that one side should have the kind of enmity for the other that a Jewish person has for Hitler. It shouldn’t be necessary to say this, but here goes … Democrats and Republicans are all American Citizens. Most of them are tax payers. One would think that they all want the same thing … what is best for America. They certainly will differ on how that should be achieved, and by the way democrats and republicans should differ among themselves, but they should be able to work together to solve the problems facing the country and put it in a position to be successful in the future. They should … but they aren’t. They aren’t, because they don’t all want what is best for America. Compromise and cooperation have become dirty words because the goals held by too many of our leaders can’t be achieved with compromise and cooperation. The goal is to foil the plans of the other party, and achieve the goals of yours. Party has become more important than country. That is the only conclusion I can reach. The elected officials have adopted this position, and have pushed, prodded, deceived, and scared the rest of us to join them. Hank Williams Jr. is just one of many blind or blinded followers. It is a real big problem, far bigger than an ignorant celebrity making a horrible analogy.