Take a look through American history, and there have been numerous wars waged on abstract political ills, real or perceived — the War on Poverty, the War on Drugs, the War on Terror, and so on.
These metaphorical battles have produced mixed results, to say the least. While the War on Poverty in the 1960s, part of President Lyndon B. Johnson’s Great Society, made great strides in preventing low-income people from spiraling even more into an economic subclass, these other wars have proven deeply misguided.
As it turns out, violent rhetoric isn’t a suitable framework for addressing issues of public concern.
But here in Tennessee, we have yet to learn this lesson. Despite claims to the contrary from the so-called “family values” Republican Party that rules the statehouse, there is a new war being waged in the name of immigration enforcement, public cost savings, gun rights and other right-wing talking points.
The party is, in essence, declaring war on perhaps the most vulnerable among us: the War on Children.