Xenophobia-Past and Present

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Xenophobia is defined as having abnormal fear of the strange or foreign.For decades in the U.S. we've seen countless examples of this contemptuous condition.All too often in a land that claims to be the melting pot of the world,we've seen numerous examples throughout history that highlight the fact that so many citizens of the greatest nation on earth, are for one reason or another, completely opposed to anything that might be contrary to their own personal realities. Through this abnormal fear, history has shown that not only do these individuals sit and discuss these personal anxieties amongst one another, but we've also seen these same individuals organize and mobilize in the form of groups like The Council of Conservative Citizens, The Tea Party Movement, and of course; at the more extreme end of the spectrum; The Ku Klux Klan. Most interesting about these groups is the correlation between their emergence and points in history where other groups like women, gays or minorities for example; begin to strive for the same rights and liberties that are held in such high regard by these most "American" of Americans. The average person might wonder what; if anything, do any of the three groups I mentioned above have in common. Besides the fact that they all choose to put on as if they are mostly just groups of conservative, church going patriots, the tie that really binds these characters together is that most if not all of the members of these groups; and many others like them; are completely handicapped by a terrible condition I like to refer to as "Sheepism". Those who are unfortunate enough to suffer through a life with this awful affliction tend to be extremely self righteous, yet are usually perfectly incapable of making any independent decisions. With most; but not all; of these barnstormers possessing some degree of "mental deficiency" to say the least. So why is it that at times like the civil rights movement,the women's rights movement,the gay rights movement, or more recently the election of the 44th President of the United States do these types of groups seem to come out of the woodwork...Xenophobia perhaps?