120 hours ago, Barack Obama woke up the presumptive nominee of the Democratic Party. There were outpourings of pride and emotion on all sides that a person of colour could win the nomination, culminating with a rousing speech by Hillary Clinton calling the party to unite behind him. Quietly, unseen though, a familiar dark hate machine sprang to life and began spewing venom which will be non-stop until 04 November.

I have questions, what if we’re all wrong? We’ve seen a political system break down in cynicism and hatred over the last 40-years. What if there truly is another way and we just let go of our need to be right? What if no one candidate has the answers, just wants to be a good leader who has us think and work together to pull ourselves out of this mess? All I ever hear are someone else’s answers in politics without them ever checking to see if they at least got the question right.

For example, over those same five days my devout “Christian” Republican “friend” who for 25-years was the front woman for a prominent retired Republican Congressman, sent 9-separate e-mails with but one purpose, destroy Senator Obama and his family, across this desk.

The titles and content had similar themes (FEAR!) and were filled astounding distortions with the similar admonition (IT’S TRUE!!!). “Obama, how many lies will it take?,” “We paid for her education” (a reference to Ivy League educated Michelle who forgot that candidate’s wives are supposed to smile and wave vacuously) and my fave, “Sooooooo America… wake up!” (complete with Photo-Shopped images of Barack Obama in Mid-East garb, in front of the White House and sporting a bin Laden beard.)  It came with claims that: HE IS MUSLIM, even though he spent much of April and May dealing very publicly with his very whacky, very Christian ex-pastor.

The Republican divide and conquer Appalachian/Southern strategy is in full swing 5-months out. Take no prisoners, no lie is too extreme, no factoid free from exploiting and no shot too cheap to take. Five months of non-stop hate, Swift Boat adverts and doing everything they can to destroy Obama whilst failing to accept the premise that their own candidate may be flawed… a divorced man portrayed this weekend in the UK Daily Mail as someone who threw over his fashion model wife and their three kids when she was disfigured in an auto accident, who played the field with numerous peccadilloes and married an heiress with more money than he would ever otherwise see. Said his ex-wife, “he didn’t want to be 40, he wanted to be 25 again.”

Now I placed the words “Christian” and “friend” from above in brackets because they are words that mean more to most than feel good religious platitudes and Facebook “you are my friend so let me tell you all the nutty things I do each day” of which I care not a whit.

The things I do care about are the way in which words are distorted into a feel-good brand of truth most right wing Christians try to export. A “Bible Lite” requiring no introspection, thought or allows for any questioning, ever. It features pastors screaming a brand of venom from pulpits demanding everyone listen to his view (they are overwhelmingly male) of the world.

It’s quite brilliant really. In a hi-tech, increasingly isolated, broken world, their simple, paternalistic platitudes are based on 1950’s family television moral standards – The Donna Reed Show. Women are objects best seen and never heard and everyone leads quiet, but dysfunctional, home lives. And this group has concocted many a dramatic ruse to bring us back to that more civil time: abstinence pledges, smiling, white middle class family units and community (that means expanding the church) involvement. Of course everyone then remains silent when financial and sexual scandals ravage the church and turns a blind eye to ministries requiring sacks o’ cash. They know the news cycle will move on leaving them to fix it on their own, just remain silent, don’t move a muscle. Instead of fight or flight, they freeze.

None of this remotely resembles the humble, tolerant style of the carpenter from Galilee whose name they invoke at every turn and insist love me. And yet they see only what they need to see to be proven right.

I have known this woman for 10-years and what strikes me is the dichotomy of her behaviours. On the one hand a devout, caring person sending lovely and uplifting notes and sentiments. What troubles is the darker side, blind to discussion or reason, relying on “IF YOU ONLY KNEW WHAT I KNOW” as the touchstone. Even when proven wrong, never deviates from the message… then ratchets up hatred and venom further, counter to the appearance of an inner goodness, to maintain the failing and failed party line at all costs.

Deep inside this right wing mindset is a deep struggle and clinging to their “known” brand of truth for one simple reason, “if I’m wrong about this… then what in my life is right?”

It has to be a lonely and terrifying place.

It will be a very long and nasty five-month campaign unless we find another way to come together and respect each other’s differences.

In the primaries, 36 million people came out and said they wanted the partisan bickering to stop.

36 million people want to find another way to conduct the nation’s business.

36 million people cannot all be wrong.

It’s easy to sit on the sidelines and take shots. Now we need to lead with more than platitudes.