In the past, I have referred to elected Republicans using many derogatory descriptors. Nazis, fascists, sycophants, bootlickers, to name a few. Too many to count, really. When one talks extemporaneously for a living, as I do, the verbal paintings I create are more colorful than some like. Many people prefer a more bland palette than I do.
A few days ago, the brush stroke I used that appeared distasteful to some was uttering the phrase ‘American Taliban’ and attaching it to Republicans. After an angry viewer called me out, I further explained my views by doubling down. For clarity and accuracy’s sake, my exact quote was:
The Republican Party is rapidly transforming before our eyes into a religious death cult. The Taliban is a less dangerous organization to America than the Republican Party. I’ll say it again - a little louder for the back of the room - Republicans are more dangerous; they’re more of a threat to America than the Taliban. I’m not being hyperbolic; I’m not saying it to be flashy. I believe it to be true.
This didn’t sit well with some. In fact, a larger discussion (separate and apart from what I said on YouTube) began related to evoking ‘Taliban’ or ‘American Taliban’ to describe Republicans, their policy objectives, and their outlook on the social order in America. People like the respected historian and Yale Professor Dr. Joanne Freeman pushed back against the analogy, saying that it may “suggest that what’s happening is somehow ‘foreign.’”
First, let me state that which is not entirely necessary to say. I don’t believe Dr. Freeman has anything other than good intentions with this viewpoint. She is a brilliant intellectual and has nearly as many letters after her name as the ones that comprise mine. I merely believe she’s wrong about this. I respectfully disagree with this viewpoint.
One of the goals of language is to artfully and accurately communicate ideas. And the use of analogies to draw comparisons serves to meet that goal. And not so generally speaking, this is a spot-on analogy.
The Taliban is a ruling political entity that has its philosophies informed by an extremist fundamentalist religious outlook. They are a political organization with the stated objectives of curtailing the civil and human rights of women, members of the LGBTQ, and religious minorities. They operate outside the scope of democracy and the rule of law. And they create chaos in the areas they govern.
Is it then a bridge too far to compare the modern-day Republican Party to the Taliban? I don’t believe so.
The Republican Party in many states in the United States is a ruling political entity that has its philosophies informed by an extremist fundamentalist religious outlook. They are a political organization with the stated objectives of curtailing the civil and human rights of women, members of the LGBTQ, and religious minorities. They operate outside the scope of democracy and the rule of law. And they create chaos in the areas they govern.
So, this isn’t about conjuring a foreign specter to initiate fear in Americans. This is about making an apt comparison using an analogy that many Americans will understand, given the current news cycle and the decades-long war in Afghanistan against the Taliban.
The icing on the cake, in this case, may be that Republicans are the very thing they claim to abhor. The same group (the Taliban) that Republicans have demonized and used as a fixed justification for an over 20-year war that cost us roughly 5,200 American lives and $2.3 trillion just so happens to be an ideological analog. I believe, if not for whatever level of liberal democracy that remains in the United States, the Republican Party would be exacting the same barbaric devastation using the same tactics as the Taliban in Afghanistan.
This comparison and language are intended to convey the gravity of the existential threat posed by Republicans to the American people and indeed the world. I want my audience to understand that just as terrible as the Taliban is for the people of Afghanistan, Republicans all across the country are a similar threat to us.
As always, I encourage your participation in this conversation. Through robust and earnest dialogue about matters like this, we will resolve the many issues facing us. What do you think?
I'll make this simple. To quote a long used analogy, hey GQP "If the shoe fits, wear it."
Each day that goes by brings more devastation to the basic human rights. Everything that's been fought for so valiantly in the years past (voting and abortion are just a couple of examples). I agree with your analogy of how the Republicans have become so extreme to the right that their views have taken on the Taliban mindset. Anytime the U.S. Attorney General states that those who seek abortion will be protected under federal law says a lot about how dire today's world has become. It saddens me as well as those who believe in the decency of our God given rights as humans.