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The New Scarlet LetterHester Prynne is back - and her name is Sarah Sanders.By Ric Wasley July 9, 2018 Hester Prynne is back - and her name is Sarah Sanders Do you recall back in school, when you were assigned Nathaniel Hawthorne's classic, The Scarlet Letter? Didn’t you feel sad for the way that the intolerant, small-minded bigots treated her? I did. They ‘shunned’ her and did every nasty, cruel and petty thing they could think of to hurt her. What mean-spirited bigots! In fact, it made me feel so mad about intolerance that back in my college days in the 60s, the first party I registered for was Democrat. Why? Because I thought (and maybe it was even true back then) that they were the party of tolerance and inclusion. Oh me, oh my - how times have changed. The Democrats have gone from being the party of inclusion and tolerance - to the party of the “tumbrels of the revolution,” the terror of the Red Guards and ‘blue-nosed’ scolds of old Salem’s self-righteous, bitter arbiters of ‘social justice.’ How sad. One has to wonder. How did a party which once stood for the rights of man, social justice…for everyone - regardless of race creed or color - became the party of hate and intolerance for any view except those that have been approved by the rigid party hierarchy? They now seem to subscribe to the same brand of bigotry and intolerance that condemned Hester Prynne and now condemns mothers like Sarah Sanders, who don’t conform to their social hierarchy, to humiliation and today’s equivalent of public stoning. It is incredible to someone like me who lived in the era of emerging social justice for…everyone! How could a party dedicated to that principal have fallen so low as to become a haven for all those who throughout history would have been part of the angry, spite-filled mob braying for humiliation and excoriation to be brought down on every person who did not accede to the narrow point of view? But remember, intolerant, spiteful, mean, petty people have always been around. In past times they formed mobs who beat their victims, spat on them and shunned them. Sound familiar? It is the profile of the new, “Social Justice Warrior” - and I use the terms, “justice” and “warrior," advisedly. Three centuries ago those vicious, nasty harpies would have been shunning Hester Prynne as an unwed mother. Today only the category chosen to victimize is different. The type of people who relish in persecution, pettiness, and bullying is not different. Today they are called Democrats. As the standard bearers of intolerance have always done, they carefully choose their victims as anyone they think cannot fight back and thus can safely be bullied. For instance, you haven’t seen any of the loudmouthed, violent Lefties go into a biker bar and confront the guys there wearing MAGA hats, have you? Although I must confess, I’d pay to see that! Alas, you never will. This crowd has no courage or even steadfast beliefs, they are merely perpetual bullies and cowards and thus will stick to confronting with rude, frothing hatred, only those who they think will be too mature, civil or unable (like women or families out with their children) to fight back. That is what twisted, mean-spirited bullies have done since the beginning of time. How then, should principles respond to the latest crop of haters on the Left? Should we respond in kind? For many of us, getting down into the gutter with them goes against the grain of the way we were raised. However, as the ‘adults-in-the-room,' we must also realize that trying to have a mature conversation with a closed-minded ideologue who thrives on mindless chanting and hatred is not going to get us anywhere either. No, I think the best we can do is avoid them like the plague that they are and admit that we are never going to able to change the rabid left with reason. Instead, let us focus on strengthening our positions in the way the founding fathers in their wisdom provided us to deal with this intolerant, bullying fringe that has always been with us. We must and can, continue to defeat them and their brand of mindless hate at the most effective place - the ballot box.
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 Ric Wasley is a writer and lecturer, as well as the author of the popular McCarthy Mystery Series. Ric has had a 40 year professional career history in advertising, publishing and marketing in Boston, New York and San Francisco. He has degrees in history and psychology and has been trained in debating, public speaking and stage acting. A large part of his 40 year career was spent in numerous professional and business settings as a presenter and featured speaker at seminars and professional meetings. Ric has been a visiting professor at Worcester Polytech Institute. He also teaches a popular course on marketing for authors at prominent venues such as the venerable “Cape Cod Writers Conference.” Wasley has been involved in both print and broadcast media as well as writing for business and commercial markets for over 30 years and continues to consult for a major media company. In addition to his novels and short stories, he has been published in several literary magazines. Wasley currently divides his time between Boston and his home on Cape Cod where he continues to write, lecture and create worlds where the unexpected thrives.
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