I don’t know about you, but one of my favorite games as an adolescent was “gossip.”

We all sat in a circle and started a phrase around the group by whispering in the ear of the next kid in line until the person on the other side of the originator said out loud what he or she had heard. It never came out the same.

It was fun then because what was said was usually quite innocent and all of us knew it wasn’t true.

It’s not fun now, as politicians play the game.

The undercurrent is often hatred, along with the hope that, by telling it to another person as often as possible, it will eventually be considered the truth.

There is room in our free society for dissent. Our nation was founded on that freedom, but I maintain that opposing someone doesn’t mean one has to hate him or her.

The nature of things in our nation has fertilized a breeding ground for neo-Nazis, white supremacists, ethnic radicals and plain old, run-of-the-mill bigots.

Some are stashing powerful weapons along the border with Mexico and patrolling on their own, so the National Guard, Border Patrol and legitimate law enforcement now have to watch them, along with the growing tide of illegal immigration.

Many people are feeling that it’s their duty to “out” illegal immigrants. A female preacher recently confronted a Hispanic government official, asking, “when did you migrate here?” The man’s family has been in the U.S. for five generations.

During the past week, the “race card” has been played again and again, resulting in the loss of a high level government job for one black woman, followed by apologies by her superiors as the real story came out. What they had heard and seen was a tape ‚Äúdoctored‚Äù by her conservative enemies.

She was offered her old job back and her former bosses even suggested creating a new one, but she’s taking time to think about it.

I don’t blame her. All too often, people act on the basis of half-truths and then end up having to publicly apologize. It’s not unusual for one group to ‚Äúset up‚Äù members of another group, with disastrous consequences. The catalyst isn’t reasonable change, it’s unreasonable hatred.

Complaints about Supreme Court Judge Sonia Sotomayor’s “wise Latina” comment have popped up all over the news recently as evidence of racism. She was confirmed as a judge in the highest court in the land. Get over it.

Diversity scares the heck out of some folks. Mix that fright with hatred and it becomes a ticking time bomb.

I am not a member of the Tea Party, but I am upset that the Black Panthers and other ethnic people of color are attacking the movement as a whole as being racist.

Some Tea Party members are probably racist, just as members of the major, minor and fringe parties are, but still more are genuinely upset with the way things are going in the United States and want change.

They’re angry at Barack Obama for not making a big difference fast enough. They dislike “Obamacare” and oppose new government spending.

The President is one person and, in the USA, not a dictator. Congress is at fault for taking recent actions and, despite the power of the veto, Obama can be overruled.

He cannot change anything single-handedly.

His life can’t be comfortable, especially as the key topic in the national game of gossip.

For those who still want to play, got dandruff, some of it itches. Pass it on.