Since Barack Obama was elected President of the United States, the white gloves have been metaphorically pulled off, and political discourse has largely ceased to be civilized. At this point in the 2012 presidential campaign, the GOP is sputtering badly, but comments and actions by past and present members remain frightening reminders of how easily our civil rights can be tossed away indifferently, and how imperative it is that we stand guard against those who use rhetoric to hide their own racism, sexism, and hatred of progress.