Op-Ed: Coulter, Trump, Limbaugh and Cowell: Will Hope Trump Cynics?

Barack Obama was elected on hope. Change is in the offing. But some people might not be aboard. What will happen to the cynics like Simon, Trump, Limbaugh and Cowell?

Will they sink? They might if folks notice the holes in their vessels of argument. Simon Cowell is a fellow who likes to make fun, usually at the expense of others. He doesn’t back down either. He makes a lot of money in Great Britain for Britain’s Got Talent and in the United States for American Idol. His methods are controversial. Cowell has been known to douse the hopes of many with his caustic remarks and has even been accused of driving some to drugs. http://www.actressarchives.com/news.php?id=12784 Speaking of drugs, that subject brings up Limbaugh, the man who gets away with anything and likely laughs to more than one bank, perhaps a little high at times on something he got from the mail or a doc. Recall he had some drubbing for drugging, still came out unscathed. He just turned around and beats up on everyone else, from Michael J. Fox to the homeless in Hawaii., all with sarcasm. Anne Coulter is really the Queen of Mean, not the hotel maven that once had the moniker. Coulter leaves bodies all around, laid low by tongue as sword. On a program with Donny Deutsch to promote one of her books this was some of the exchange: ““You said we should just throw Judaism away and we should all be Christians then?” “Yeah. Well, it’s a lot easier. It’s kind of a fast track. But you have to obey,” she said. “We just want the Jews to be perfected. That’s what Christianity is. We believe the Old Testament but ours is more like Federal Express. You have to obey laws. We know that we’re all sinners.” Deutsch called her remark “absurd” and added, “If Ann Coulter had any brains, she would not say that Jews need to be perfected. I’m offended by that, personally.” Donald Trump has his ways as well. Making fun of people who fail is his modus operandi. And it works apparently, because this guy, like the others, makes megabucks. His behavior with young people on The Apprentice, his use of sarcasm and cruel bluntness was criticized soundly in an article in the Los Angeles Times. Sarcasm according to psychologists is really anger. It is meant to hurt with words when fisticuffs aren’t possible. Sarcasm is often referred to as anger turned inside out. It is sometimes used to defend oneself when anger doesn’t work, as in the case of Bill Clinton, former President of the United States. So why do people use sarcasm? First of all we don’t duel anymore. Social etiquette that keeps people from condemning it allows it to flourish. People don’t want to be a target themselves so they reinforce the aim at someone else. That keeps them from injury. But know what? It lets the violence escalate. It hurts especially when it resides in someone who can’t admit mistakes. Know some people like that? I choose hope. I choose that even if Obama had never said it. It isn’t as apt to get the crowds pouring in at the same rate as sarcasm, but it will help us improve. Verbal violence creates an atmosphere where violence in any form might be accepted. We can do better, I hope.