Couldn't agree more, and many other countries seem to be following suit. My home country of South Africa is no exception and it seems that pretty much all of the political parties have been accusing anyone they don't agree with as being racist.

I think an important factor enabling this is the media, who always go crazy when these allegations are made and wildly exaggerate the facts to support their majority audience's opinions. People read and watch things that support and enforce their opinion regardless of the underlying facts. I think this may be the most underrated threat to humanity as we know it.