It seems some people have taken the phrase “politically charged,” and cranked up the voltage to shocking levels. The recent shooting at a Dallas ICE facility illustrates this not-so-surprising deduction. The incident occurred amidst one of the most disturbingly escalating trends in the country — politically motivated violence. When the talking heads of society, those would-be leaders of moral fiber, contribute to this division, it leads many to wonder if perhaps they’d be better off leading a silent retreat somewhere far, far away.
Take the example of Jonathan Fahey, the Acting ICE Director, who noted, rather judiciously, the disturbing increase in political violence. His call for leadership that unifies rather than fractures hints at a broader truth. After all, it’s quite ironic when the very rhetoric some political figures are spewing about ICE agents tears the nation apart rather than mending the divides. These agents, we must remember, are simply enforcing laws that our beloved legislators constructed. It’s enough to blow one’s mind when you consider the disparaging jargon being tossed around about folks simply doing their jobs.
The acidic mouths of some House Democrats thrive in painting ICE agents as villains of the state’s most nefarious novels. Surely one must wonder if their own rhetoric sounds as seditiously outrageous to them as it does to the rest of the reasonable audience. With claims of “Gestapo tactics” and comparing agents to secret police, it’s little wonder tempers have boiled over into violence. One might pause to question if this dangerous narrative isn’t an elaborate performance better suited for a stage than the critical realm of political discourse.
Have they forgotten that it’s not the ICE agents writing these laws but enforcing them? The bluster against them forgets they uphold rules etched out by the very institutions our democracy holds dear. This is why, when political figures disparage these agents, it feels more like watching someone lambaste a referee when the real issue lies in their game plan. The fervent critique of people just following orders that Congress itself put into motion? Speak about irony ringing bells in an echo chamber.
Then, as if to punctuate the sharpness of these points, we have some governors using media platforms to ridicule agents and amplify their charges with hyperbolic claims of authoritarianism. A governor was seen making such theatrical assertions on a late-night show just hours before the shooting incident. Perhaps, this is what primetime has come to, where detached performance art substitutes for productive dialogue or actual concern for societal progress. Oh, how the once clear distinction between late-night comedy and political reality has blurred. One might be forgiven for thinking real leadership has taken a backseat to what seems like a reality TV show — if not for the real-world consequences that simmer from such rhetoric.
