It’s fire season in Colorado. In the blink of an eye, a lightning strike can spark a forest fire. A strong wind can ignite the coals of an abandoned campfire, spreading the flames throughout the camp and beyond.
It’s also fire season in politics; another type of hot wind fuels the internal fires in the bellies of the discontent.
A forest fire will eventually be contained and put out whereas anger in the belly can sit for a long time. It settles in the gut for a good stay, becoming a friend to the embers of fear and unwanted change. Anger sits beside the internal campfire, fueling the flames of hatred as well as blinding rational thought.
Many to the far right on the political spectrum seem to be embracing the bonfire. The Office of Intelligence and Analysis (Homeland Security) released a report earlier this year titled, “Rightwing Extremism: Current Economic and Political Climate Fueling Resurgence in Radicalization and Recruitment.”
The report states that ” rightwing extremists may be gaining new recruits by playing on their fears about several emergent issues. The economic downturn and the election of the first African-American president present unique drivers for rightwing radicalization and recruitment.”
Trust me. I’ve visited my internal fire many times this past year. Madoff burned my cash savings. So I stoked my fire. Like so many others, I’ve watched half of my retirement money go down in flames – I throw another log in the fire ring.
I take two Pepcids after my husband tells me, again, that his job may be outsourced overseas – throw an even bigger log on the coals. Oh yea, my campfire is well stoked. I do try to sit back from the heat of the ring and look up at the sky, allowing my flames to subside. But it’s hard to calm the flames, especially during these economic times.
What scares me about this anger is when a private fire jumps the line and becomes a public blaze. Last month in Loveland, an internal campfire did just that. Two of my white-haired-over-the-age-of-55 friends shielded themselves from the fireball.
They were staffing the Larimer County Democratic Party booth at a Fourth of July festival in Loveland.
According to them, an adult male walked by their booth mid-morning and screamed, “Democrats, go home.” Without so much as a pause, the two women went on with their volunteering; they are used to this. But a little while later the same man came back and shouted, “You are the scum of the Earth,” and “Everything wrong is your fault – get out of America.” It was like red anger blinded white hair, like sable rage trumped restraint and control.
The insults continued until the threat of police contained his public blaze – he finally walked away. Tummies turned after the second visit. “I’ve been volunteering for booths and parades for four years, and I have never been attacked like that,” my friend says. “This anger is new.”
The Office of Homeland Security report also states that “the current economic and political climate has some similarities to the 1990s when rightwing extremism experienced a resurgence fueled largely by an economic recession, criticism about the outsourcing of jobs, and the perceived threat to U.S. power and sovereignty by other foreign powers.”
Yes, it’s fire season in politics and in Colorado. Luckily, this summer, we’ve had a lot of rain. And we’re starting to see some positive economic indicators that may help cool the winds that stoke the belly’s internal fire. I don’t want to see another local private fire jump the line. And I don’t want to see another Hayman Fire or another Oklahoma City.
So I will work to keep my emotional embers in check. I will look away from my internal flames and up to the sky. And I will not allow red anger to blind me to the true faces of my fellow Americans. Finally, I will continue to carry my fire ban of hope.
Bridget Cassidy of Loveland (bridgetcassidy2009@gmail.com) works as a grant writer for Grow LLC in Denver. She also writes for Women’s Magazine in Boulder and is finishing her master’s degree at Colorado State University. EDITOR’S NOTE: This is an online-only column and has not been edited.
