As students at Brandeis, we are charged with the pursuit of truth "even unto its innermost parts." If we hold to those words, then we have a duty to insist on a civilized, rational discussion of policies that will affect our lives and the lives of our fellows. In this light, it's worth considering the utter degradation of civilized discourse that transpired over this past summer, a summer that saw truth fall as the first victim to a most troubling form of vitriol and venom. What an odd summer it has been. We have seen the U.S. president subjected to countless rumors and dark accusations lacking any foundation in reality, all apparently intended to delegitimize and undermine the administration. The president's policies have been subjected to the crudest caricatures and painted as catastrophic abandonments of American principles; his supporters in government have suffered irrational attacks as well. According to his detractors, he is a socialist while he is somehow also a fascist; he was born in Kenya, thus ineligible for the presidency to which he was elected; he wants to euthanize the elderly; he is an ardent and unabashed racist. These falsehoods go on and on.

Glenn Beck, Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity and their ilk have pandered to the most ludicrous fears of a fringe element, broadcasting that paranoia to millions. Acting in pursuit of ratings, not improved policy or discourse, they recklessly endanger the public welfare, their actions contrary to a free exchange of ideas. Nothing is achieved by such ridiculous accusations of Nazism and nefarious intent except the abandonment of civility and the desertion of the social justice for which Justice Louis D. Brandeis so ardently fought. Respect for our democratic institutions and a commitment to vigorous and spirited debate are the vanguard of our American republic; however, these myriad efforts to exaggerate, sensationalize and outright lie to the American people have rendered any meaningful discussion impossible. Justice Brandeis wrote in 1915, "What are the American ideals? They are the development of the individual for his own and the common good; the development of the individual through liberty, and the attainment of the common good through democracy and social justice." Limbaugh expressed a hope for the failure of the administration, but failure does not promote the common good; lies and distortions betray our democracy and restrict our true potential for social justice.

In this climate, absurd comparisons to Adolf Hitler are the rule, not the exception; those concerned about government policies are encouraged not simply to articulate opposing viewpoints but to shout down and intimidate officials at town hall meetings nationwide. Our country has seen obfuscation and distortion like this before: President Chester Arthur weathered rumors that he was a foreigner, and President Dwight D. Eisenhower was accused of being a Communist. Both the far left and far right have long and storied histories of misrepresentation and fear-mongering, but this most recent strain seems particularly troubling. The wild insinuations about the president and his policies that have propagated in recent months will inexorably chip away at the perception of his character. This is more than simple voter dissatisfaction; this is the systematic delegitimization of the office of the presidency and the man who holds it.

Why should we at Brandeis care? Because words matter. Language matters. And blind demonization of one's opponents has consequences. The nation has found itself sliding into an economic abyss, descending deeper than any time since the 1930s. We have seen our university suffer dearly in this turmoil, and many of us have seen our parents suffer as well. As students, as citizens, we all have a stake in the success of this nation. Many of us voted last year, and regardless of whether we identify as Democrats, Republicans or Independents, our futures are intimately dependent on the success of our country. What we need now is not demagoguery but reasoned debate, a spirited discussion about the policies that will affect each of our lives. Only then can we begin to work toward securing our common good and achieving the social justice we seek.