North Carolina continues to be ruled and held back by the party of fear

It would be silly to claim that there aren’t a lot of things in the modern world about which to be deeply concerned or even, at times, fearful.

There’s the ongoing global environmental emergency, the resurgence of war and authoritarianism, the many uncertainties surrounding the rapid development of artificial intelligence, the plague of poverty and homelessness and, as even a few moments of three-o’clock-in-the morning reflection will confirm for most of us, dozens of other legitimate worries.

If ever we try to put these things out of our minds, the little devices in our pockets and purses will prevent any sustained success.

All that said, it’s also true that, as one of the greatest American presidents so eloquently reminded the nation in the depths of the Great Depression 93 years ago, allowing ourselves to be overwhelmed and ruled by fear is a recipe for disaster. For a nation, a state, a people to move forward when times are tough, it’s essential that fear be managed and kept in check.

And it’s in light of this simple truth that North Carolinians find themselves sorely burdened these days by the policies and politics of what can be best described as the party of fear.

Think about it for a moment. If there’s a single unifying theme at the core of the policies and politics of the Republican leaders who’ve dominated state lawmaking for the past 16 years, it’s fear. Fear of different people. Fear of science. Fear of corporate bosses. Fear of Donald Trump. Fear of new ideas. Fear of voters. And most of all, fear of change.

The examples go on and on, even in just the past few days.

Take Wake County State Rep. Erin Paré’s new half-baked plan for legislation that would micromanage the clothing worn by transgender teachers.

It’s hard to know whether to laugh or cry at such a preposterous idea. Setting aside the absurd notion that in 2026, clothing must or even can match one’s gender — what, no pants for you and your fellow female legislators, Rep. Paré? – the proposal highlights just how fear and utter cluelessness can feed off each other.

Earth to Rep. Paré: there are hundreds – probably thousands – of trans people right there in your comfy Wake County district who have lived as their true selves for decades and who neither you nor anyone else in the broader public would ever know started life labeled with a different gender. Is it really your plan to revive the old HB2 craziness of the last decade by somehow requiring them to masquerade in an identity they abandoned long ago? Why? How?

Of course, the good news here is that, even under the current GOP leadership in the legislature, Paré’s silly idea seems unlikely to proceed very far anytime soon. Would that this were the case for another fear-based GOP policy of even greater long-term consequence that’s been advancing in Raleigh in recent days.

As NC Newsline has reported, Republican lawmakers are, for what seems like the umpteenth time in recent years, advancing yet more legislation that would erect roadblocks to voting. And as always, the stated excuse – somehow boosting “election integrity” – has absolutely nothing to do with the what’s really going on. Rather, as nakedly transparent ideas like reducing the window for early voting confirm, the new proposals are about one thing and one thing only: doing anything possible to blunt the voter backlash the GOP fears is coming this fall in response to the chaotic Trump presidency.

As with the embarrassingly partisan moves of state Auditor Dave Boliek and his minions, these proposals are all premised on one thing: the Republican fear that certain voters – young people, people of color, and people of low income – will reject them.

It’s the same fear of voters that one sees in the repeated efforts to seize powers from Democratic officials elected by large majorities in statewide elections, as is being pursued yet again in pending “technical corrections” legislation.

And, in a sobering way, it’s the same kind of fear that one sees in policies like those that deny the reality of climate change, that seek to deport millions of immigrants, and that cozy up to corporate plutocrats with ceaseless tax cuts and other giveaways.

Rather than acknowledging, accepting and confronting head-on the formidable challenges we face as a state, nation and species, and promoting participatory, collective action, it’s the policy of the party of fear – indeed, the guiding premise of the whole “MAGA” movement – that Americans can avoid the change that makes many fearful and uncomfortable by somehow keeping it at bay or denying its existence.

And ultimately, it’s not going to work.

As with so many reactionary movements and regimes throughout history, the policies of the party of fear will cause delays, some of them hugely destructive, in addressing the most important issues of our time. But in the long run, change is coming regardless and the sooner we come to recognize the truth in FDR’s warning that “the only thing we have to fear its fear itself,” the much better off we will be.