We live in a world where many have lost perspective

By Jonathan Roberts

The attempted assassination of American Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords, and the murder of those around her, is an unspeakable tragedy that should be met with contempt but not surprise. It is yet another gun crime committed by an unstable young man, but it is also the product of a childish political discourse that promotes hatred as an acceptable response to political disagreements.

With burning effigies now the norm on protests, gone are the days when Voltaire’s maxim “I may disagree with what you have to say, but I shall defend your right to say it” rang universally true. A cursory look through blogs, comment pages on news websites and, indeed, conversations in the conference bar now suggest we live in a world where many have lost perspective, and where many with political views will dish out accusations of evil, dishonesty and stupidity for the most minor of differences.

In America, it is this politics of hatred, marketed as ‘anger’, that gives campaigns such as the Tea Party its energy. There, you are not progressive, you are Marxist. You don’t believe in universal healthcare, you believe in destroying the constitution. You do not have legitimate concerns about military operations, you are unpatriotic. Similarly, you don’t believe in small government, you are a redneck. You don’t believe in the importance of making your own way in the world, you are an uncaring elitist.

Amongst the political classes, there is no compromise, no acceptance of other parties’ views, no respect for the personal character of an opponent.

For some, politics has become an extreme sport. You are either with us or against us. And the UK is not immune to the trend. Two years ago, when the contemptible Nick Griffin was attacked outside parliament, I suggested that such physical aggression belied the strength of our arguments against him, and that by behaving like thugs the protestors did more harm to anti-BNP efforts than good. As a consequence, several young activists suggested I was a BNP sympathiser, and from what I gather they still believe it to this day. I wasn’t with them, so I must have been against them.

Similarly, I recently joined a Conservative friend for a pint in a pub local to Westminster. We talked politics, argued, agreed to disagree before talking about football. I returned home to find an email from a fellow Labour member who had seen me – “Being friends with Tory scum won’t help your political career” she said. I drafted a two word response – ‘grow up’, but chose not to send it.

Too many have forgotten that it is OK to disagree. The vast majority of us are in politics for the same reason – we want to make the world a better place – many of us will disagree over the best way to do it, but that should not stop is from respecting the shared goal. We can debate and argue, but we can disagree without being disagreeable.

British politics remains at a low ebb. With expenses back in the headlines, the public want to know if they can trust all of us – not just MPs. The best way we can regain that trust is not by fiddling around with IPSA or opposing for opposition’s sake, but by ensuring the hate-filled, hyperbolic political discourse that has swamped America does not corrupt the way we do our politics here. Whether it is a true perception or not, Britain is respected across the world for its fairness and decency, so let’s bring these esteemed values to the way we do our politics. Then perhaps our politics will be mature enough to ignore tribal squabbling, leaving us more time to get on with the business of changing the world for the better.