I'm a fan of science fiction, so I was pleased when Comet TV recently began to broadcast Babylon 5 on a nightly basis. We'd watched a few of the episodes during its original airing, but for reasons I can't remember, we didn't finish the series. While wonderfully cheesy at times, it often offers astute observations in well-crafted scenes and lines, and some of those 1990s-written story lines eerily apply to our times.
In the season 3 episode titled, "Voices of Authority," Captain Sheridan is assigned a political advisor. The character was played by a blond with classical features. The moment she stepped onto the station, we had the impression she was a dangerous woman--and far too predictable. And indeed, instead of toning down her performance and coming across as helpful with a hint of the insidious, the character fast became a caricature—an "exaggeration by means of often ludicrous distortion of parts or characteristics," according to Websters. Compared to fine performances of other actors on the show, it stood out. Comically so.
As I did my best not to roll my eyes at the upturned nose and expected snootiness and grasping for power, I thought about how often those in this day and PC-crazy age resort to presenting those with whom they disagree as caricatures instead of seeing the person for who they really are. Future generations will look back and wonder why all Republicans were painted as racist, all Democrats as crazy nuts, all men as sexual predators, women as feminazies, gun owners as psychotic killers, anti-gun activists as socialists intent on taking over the US, police as assassins, blacks as criminals, and so on.
These labels, these perceptions, are nothing more than ludicrous distortions. In real life, the rest of us, regardless of our beliefs and affiliations, are just people. We shop near one another in the grocery story, sit in close proximity in restaurants, get stuck together in traffic, talk about the weather while waiting for something or someone. Nod and smile as we pass through entrances to buildings or while walking along the sidewalk, though we'll likely never see one another again (at least we do this in the South. I don't know what the rest of y'all do when you cross paths with others.)
These labels, these perceptions, are nothing more than ludicrous distortions. In real life, the rest of us, regardless of our beliefs and affiliations, are just people. We shop near one another in the grocery story, sit in close proximity in restaurants, get stuck together in traffic, talk about the weather while waiting for something or someone. Nod and smile as we pass through entrances to buildings or while walking along the sidewalk, though we'll likely never see one another again (at least we do this in the South. I don't know what the rest of y'all do when you cross paths with others.)
It's sad, but I doubt it will change anytime soon. It's a tool too many use in the vast array of political and societal battles being waged in this country. If you're one who resorts to caricatures, I urge you to stop and see the person you're targeting as the human they are. Perhaps then those of us with a shred of common sense will listen to you. Because right now, as we did at the character in B5, we're simply rolling our eyes at your caricatures.