Of nipping in the bud

In the cliche-ridden world of popular discourse, none is more urgent then the one about "nipping things in the bud". I am referring to the reprehensible utterances and behaviour that have been observed at the McCain/Palin rallies. Ostensibly in response to statements associating Senator Obama with Ayers, supporters of these candidates have called for the most unimaginable actions against him. Unimaginable, that is, in civil society, the kind we intend to put before the world as an example for people around the world to emulate, as the 'shining light', as the 'beacon on the hill', and as one candidate put it "as a force for good".

The irony of this situation is that, the very same people who are questioning Senator Obama's integrity and judgment for associating with someone, whose actions 40 years ago were indeed questionable, are themselves associating with people who are demanding actions against him that are reprehensible today. Anybody who claims to denounce terrorism in any form, would disassociate themselves from people who advocate it, in however minor a form, particularly against a civil servant of Senator Obama's standing, whose only issue at the moment seems to be a secondary and rather distant association.

Are the candidates who associate with those who call for violence today not more guilty by direct association with such people? Well, I admit that is somwhat of a stretch. We do not know of any direct associations between the candidates and these nasty elements in the crowd. But by any measure of civil propriety in our society, these are indeed lumpen elements. That is indeed what one should call them, whatever be the nature of one's political belief. That is the least one would expect from someone who intends to lead this nation and the world. For, if they cannot see things for what they are, happening in front of their very noses, then, how can we expect them to see and respond to more serious threats as they emerge in remoter parts of the world.

It is indeed well known, that these calls for violence are seeds of venomous ideas that can disseminate very rapidly if left unattended. We should be smart enough now to know that there are certain things that are unacceptable under any circumstances, and the response against such acts must be appropriate and swift. Civil discourse is appropriate to use with people who have accepted it as their mode of resolving issues. For those others however, who have not yet signed-on, we must emphatically deny participation in conversations about our future. We must make it clear in no uncertain terms that, they will not only be ignored, but excluded and rejected, even if the price of that exclusion results in a loss in the election. That would be a worthy of a statesperson leading a "force for good".

Unless of course, the candidates indeed wish to include the lumpen elements in their fold. They then should know that they have deliberately and wantonly invited the first cancerous cells into the body politic. Not only should they strenously exclude it from their party, but now that they know it exists, the responsibilities of leadership demand that it takes an active role in identifying these elements and dealing with them appropriately.

I believe that the violence we experience in our lives is the violence which already exists within us in some form. The intensity of our hatred and dark thoughts comes back to hurt us multiplied several times over. That is what Gandhi meant, when he said "we must be the change we want to see in the world".

Never before has it been more urgent for the world to respond firmly and nonviolently to the intractable threats that are confronting us. But while we take on the larger challenges, we have to begin by defusing these ideas in our own minds and among us here, now.

Senator McCain can become a great leader in posterity, even if he never were to become President, by disassociating himself from all who foster, sponsor and encourage such seeds of hatred and violence to sprout. He needs to nip these ideas in their buds - now!