In the 1960s, singer and songwriter Joni Mitchell wrote this line: ‘I’ve looked at love from both sides now.’  In the 2020s, Democratic Senator John Fetterman could do an alternate and updated version because he has looked at hate from both sides now.

 

Fetterman spells it out in his new book:  ‘I’ve drunk deeply of the venom of both the left and the right.  And as a connoisseur, I can confirm that the most poisonous, the bitterest, is from the far left.’  The senator recently paid a visit to CNN and elaborated on what he’s endured, telling a visibly stunned Dana Bash that leftists cheer for him to have another stroke and wish for his death.  Fetterman earned that vitriol by supporting Israel and by voting to end the government shutdown.  Among too many leftists, divergence from approved dogma is punishable by death, whether fantasized or actual.

 

John Fetterman is hardly the only Democrat to incur the wrath of radicals.  When actress Cheryl Hines married Robert F. Kennedy Jr., she was a card-carrying member of the Hollywood elite because RFK was a liberal Democrat.  But the knives came out, and old friends vanished when he campaigned with Donald Trump and joined his administration.  Hines recently lamented that her ‘progressive’ pals were just plain mean.

 

Most of us have recognized this pattern for decades; Dr. Charles Krauthammer famously noted that Republicans think their opponents are wrong, but Democrats often believe conservatives are downright evil.  That’s a huge difference because a wicked person is fair game for insults, derision, and even violence.  Charlie Kirk’s assassination was followedby some disgusting celebrations, leading podcaster Joe Rogan to worry about an actual civil war between America’s extreme factions.

 

That may be far-fetched, but the left-right divide has certainly led to societal strife, almost always initiated by one side.  A new poll indicates that many young leftists feel it’s fine to end a friendship or even shun family members based on politics. Conservatives, who tend to focus on other things in life, are far less likely to put politics over family.  No doubt Donald Trump has accelerated this distressing trend, but it’s been with us for years.  The term ‘politically correct,’ which originated fifty years ago, implies that the other side is wrong and needs some serious re-education.

 

The usual suspects on MSNBC and CNN like to assure us that hatred flows in both directions, and that is true up to a point.  But on one side it’s a stream, while on the other it’s a mighty river.  Just ask John Fetterman and Cheryl Hines, who have swum in both.