“I was aghast when a constituent texted me the photo of a woman at the October 18th, ‘No Kings’ protest in my city smiling broadly as she displayed her shirt that said, ‘Is He Dead Yet?’”
By state Rep. Barbara Dittrich (R-Oconomowoc)
“Let there be peace on earth and let it begin with me.” I remember singing the words of that hallowed song in church as a young girl. The lyrics are as relevant as ever, yet in today’s culture, they seem more elusive than in decades past.
We have reached a point in history where politics is the religion of too many, and the ability to self-reflect is all but absent. Blame and venom permeate the exchanges on social media, and discourse is anything but civil. We have more money, opportunities, and reasons to be happy than ever, but the world seems dark, bitter, and endlessly quarrelsome.
For those of us who are sincere about public service, life has become perilous in ways that I never could have imagined when I decided to first run for office in 2018. I was excited to serve people in my community and state just as I had for years as an investment broker and then as founder of a Christian non-profit for parents of children with special needs, chronic illnesses, and disabilities. I made it my aim to be accessible and approachable to constituents, treating them hospitably.
Nevertheless, it did not take long for me to see that sticking my neck out to serve others in this new political capacity would mean subjecting myself to every imaginable vile name and comment under the sun. Sadly, keyboard warriors feel a bravery behind a screen saying things that they would never say to your face, and it is especially depraved when aimed at a strong woman.
Now we have reached a level of repugnance so low and dark that I have had to invest in extra security for my own safety. In years past, I have had the police involved as people have threatened to show up at my house on Thanksgiving or storm my office at the Capitol. This year is different.
My phone was flooded with messages and calls from loved ones this summer as state lawmakers in Minnesota were shot at their homes, one murdered along with her husband and dog. I had to have a police escort to my vehicle as an agitator stalked me after his contentious behavior in a hearing this year. Then there was the shocking assassination of Charlie Kirk in September at Utah Valley University.”
“The hatred has now morphed into anarchy and total moral depravity, as too many individuals celebrate the death of those with whom they disagree. Being the type of leader that I am, I have condemned all this behavior and called for unity as well as elevating rhetoric. That is way too big of an ask for certain people on the outer edges of degeneracy. I was aghast when a constituent texted me the photo of a woman at the October 18th, “No Kings” protest in my city smiling broadly as she displayed her shirt that said, “Is He Dead Yet?”
We ALL know what she was implying, and it was pure evil. How is it okay to wear a shirt like that? EVER? What would this woman’s response be if someone behaved in the same manner towards a president she favored? How would she feel if it were her loved one somebody was wishing dead?
It made me incredibly sad to think that the sweet bedroom community I moved into thirty-five years ago was now host to this level of wickedness.
It appears that the very people I have seen in the last five- or six-years staking signs in their front yards proclaiming, “Hate Has No Home Here,” have become cauldrons of the most toxic hate spewing out of them. Is there no self-awareness here? The years of Barack Obama’s presidency were some of the most difficult and oppressive for my family.
Yet, you would have never heard me or my family wishing death upon him or his supporters. Even today, I have colleagues at the State Capitol who hold views that are completely opposite to values and beliefs I hold, but I treasure them as friends and coworkers. I would never wish ill on them. The most strident of those I serve with in the legislature have me shaking my head at the very most. We cannot forget that these are people, not some caricature created in the mind that should be silenced or eliminated.
Rarely a day goes by when I do not speak to someone who thanks me for what I do and who then proceeds to tell me, “I could NEVER do what you do.” When grievance turns to verbal evisceration, people do not aspire to subject themselves to that sort of hostile work environment. When lives are threatened, even at the state and local levels of government, fewer people are ready to take that risk to run for office and serve.
A decline in public service is the inevitable outcome. If life has become this cheapened because someone does not hold the exact same stance or viewpoint, then civil society gives way to complete anarchy. That is not what any reasonable people want to see. For all of this to change, peace on earth needs to begin in our hearts. When people proclaim, “Hate Has No Home Here,” they need to first look in the mirror and assure that they have evicted all their own rancor and bitter venom. Only then will hate have no home here.
