Editorial: #BringBackOurGirls
It might seem that speaking out against the kidnapping of Nigerian students would not be controversial. However, in today’s highly politicized society, even efforts as noble as protesting for human rights become controversial. In the current American political climate, everything has to have two opposite sides.
For some political commentators, the action of speaking out against any cause of their opponent has become far too common. Rush Limbaugh, host of “The Rush Limbaugh Show”, recently spoke out against the Twitter campaign to raise awareness for the more than 200 Nigerian girls kidnapped from the Chibok Government Girls Secondary School on April 15. In particular, he criticized First Lady Michelle Obama’s picture holding a sign with the hashtag “Bring Back Our Girls”. Limbaugh called the effort “pathetic”, adding that “the sad thing here is that the low-information crowd that’s puddling around out there on Twitter is gonna think we’re actually doing something about it.”
Limbaugh went on to rant that the message the “#BringBackOurGirls” campaign on social media sent out was that the United States is too powerless to actually contribute to the search for the girls, a problem he promptly connected to the Obama administration, saying “… I want to ask you, is the United States really this powerless? And then if you answer yes, we are really this powerless, then isn’t Obama to blame?” His criticism appeared to revolve around the fact that the United States has lost global status, and because of this, we have resorted to using social media to influence change, which he believes is ineffective.
Without getting too much into the argument over whether or not social media campaigns are effective, Mr. Limbaugh’s comments seem indicative of a larger problem with American political attitudes. While it’s true that partisanship has increased in recent years, there is no reason for people like him to attempt to spin a controversy out of an issue which most Americans can agree on. No reason, of course, other than the fact that Limbaugh makes a living off of criticizing the other side and therefore cannot be expected to agree with people of opposite political ideology, even when the issue itself is not controversial. It seems safe to say that the majority of Americans would not support the kidnapping of innocent people in developing nations. But people in politics are so intent on disagreeing with their opponent on every issue that nonpolitical issues like raising awareness of kidnapping in Nigeria becomes political. Mrs. Obama was not making a political statement. There was no partisanship behind the message that something must be done to address the growing issue of safety of schools in Nigeria.
Americans today put up too much with the attitude that the other side is always wrong. Compromise is not something that we should be afraid of, and agreeing with someone of opposite political ideology will not affect your ability to disagree with them on another issue. Aversion to compromise causes criticism without offering valid solutions and, as Americans have become all too familiar with, political gridlock. Instead, politicians and constituents alike should look for middle ground, especially on uncontroversial issues, which can be seen as an opportunity to work together for a united cause. Voters can also support candidates that have a history of working with the other side, try to avoid supporting those in media who carry unconstructive and extremist views, and supplement entertainment networks such as Fox or MSNBC with minimally biased news reporting.
It is easy to rely on political ideology to guide our opinions on everything, but in order to remain an efficient and functioning society it is important to stay informed and not be afraid to cross party lines. While there may be disagreement as to how the Nigerian situation should be handled, it’s hardly fair to go after those who are simply doing their best to make a difference in the only way they know how.
