Fear of the Stranger. We need Tolerance to Survive as a Democracy

In the 14th Century, during the crusades, European Christians thought Muhammad and Muslims were agents of Satan.

In 1861, the Confederate Vice President, Alexander Stephens, gave his infamous "Cornerstone speech" in which he said, "The substratum of our society is made of the material fitted by nature for it. . . Our new government's...foundations are laid, its cornerstone rests upon the great truth, that the negro is not equal to the white man; that slavery—subordination to the superior race—is his natural and normal condition."

When Al Smith, a Catholic, ran for President in 1928, the rumor mill went into full gear, insinuating that a Catholic could never be President because his loyalty would be to the Pope.

In 2017, White supremacists marched in Charlottesville, chanting, "Jews will not replace us."

In 2025, the Deputy Chief of Staff for White House Operations, Stephen Miller, wrote, "Plenty of countries in history have experimented with importing a foreign labor class. The West is the first and only civilization to import a foreign labor class that is granted full political rights, including welfare & the right to vote."

Tommy Tuberville, the senator from Alabama, posted on social media about New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani attending a Ramadan event that "The enemy is inside the gates."

South Carolina Representative Nancy Mace called Trans people "mentally Ill." Trans people (1% of the population) are a threat to all of us.

And to bring us full circle, Representative Chip Roy of Texas just announced the “Mondami Act” that would “deport, denaturalize, deny U.S. citizenship, or entry to any non-citizen who is a member of a socialist party, a communist party, the Chinese Communist Party, or an Islamic fundamentalist party, or who advocates for socialism, communism, Marxism, or Islamic fundamentalism. “

The red thread that connects these is the powerful emotional idea that there is "us" and there are others.

"Othering" is an ancient and necessary step to enslaving, evangelizing, marginalizing, and, of course, going to war.

Seeing the world as "us" against "them" is deeply ingrained in our psychology. We have spent most of our time on the planet as Homo Sapiens in tribes where insider/outsider status played a vital role. "Belonging" and status were crucial to our ability to eat, mate, and have children.

Remember the last time you were rejected, how terrible it felt, sometimes out of proportion to the actual "damage." That is the evolutionary imperative, "You must belong to survive," wrapping its ancient tentacles around you.

Demagogues, dictators, and politicians of all stripes have used our desire to belong and have status to motivate their followers.

Nothing seems to work better than claiming that our "group" is special and that the others are out to get what we have and destroy our way of life.

Donald Trump, of course, is a master of this rhetorical method. "Illegal immigrants are murderers and rapists," "Somalis are garbage."

These are appeals to our darkest, tribal instincts: fear of the stranger, fear of the other.

First, it is incumbent on us, as Americans living in one of the most diverse countries in the world, to be aware of how our politicians and thought leaders use the "fear of the others" to gain power. (it's all about power)

Second, when Fox News dredges up another "illegal Immigrant" crime to imply that all immigrants are criminals, it's important to not to allow those tribal fears to suck us into their alternative universe where anyone who looks different, or speaks with an accent, is the enemy.

To make our modern democracy work takes tolerance and acceptance. No one group, Christian, Republican, MAGA, Democrat, Muslim, Hindu, Atheist, owns the truth. We are a multi-threaded tapestry bound together to survive —and hopefully thrive— together.

It is not a sure thing.

Thomas Jefferson's great experiment in self-governance continues. I doubt he could even imagine the complexity of our times, any more than we can imagine what the year 2400 will bring. But our great hope must be that democracy and tolerance continue. And beyond hope, it is something we all need to work on every day: It is the obligation of citizens of Ronald Reagan's Shining City on the Hill.