I happen to have a private jounral on Livejournal. I tend to dread when my LJ friends start talking about politics because the talk starts to get rather visceral and downright mean. Many of my friends are liberals and pretty much have nothing good to say about President Bush. Nothing wrong with that. However, the rhetoric can get somewhat meanspirited and personal.
It's not any better on the conservative side, maybe even worse. The Swift Boat ads make Kerry out to be a liar and a traitor to his country. Even the Veep seems to be saying that voting for Kerry will ensure another terrorist attack.
All of this has made me more and more disgusted with what politics has become. Instead of arguing about what kind of future we want in a civilized and (hopefully) dispassionate manner, what we are getting is people yelling at each other and painting the other as vile and evil and about to destroy life as we know it.
This all makes Cathy Young's story all the more compelling. We have become a nation of strangers, where someone who has a different politcal belief than you is instantly suspect. We rely on conspiracies and paranoia instead of searching for the truth. Anger and rage nudge out reason and rationality.
Young is right that things will not change after November. If Kerry wins, the conservatives will act as they did during the Clinton years, finding ways to bring down the Democratic president. If Bush is re-elected, then expect four more movies and books from the likes of Michael Moore.
But I think another thing is happening as well. As we get more into the politics of rage, people from the middle, people who rather talk than accuse will choose to set out of politics and they are the people we need to help lead this society.
The politics of rage are easy to get into. You can spout something like "Bush is a terrorist" and get people interested in you. If you instead say something like, "I find Kerry's health plan interesting," you get ignored. Who cares about Kerry's health plan?
I'd like to see people engaged in the politics of reason. Where we are finding solutions to problems and seeing a kernel of truth in everyone instead of thinking truth lies in one person or one political party.
Fat chance that will happen.
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Posted by: blague drole at October 24, 2005 08:02 AMMust Read:
LIBERALS HIJACKING AMERICA
Latest Book By Pierre Kandorfer
Tears down the mask of the liberal zealots!
On
PierreKandorfer.com
BookSurge.com, Amazon, etc.
CONTENTS
1. Who am I?
2. Clinton & The Oral Office
3. Morals for Losers
4. Pardons for Millions
5. Where No Cigar Has Gone Before
6. My Body Count & The People I Didn’t Have to Pardon
7. Golf, Sex & What They Have in Common
8. Jean Chretien & Canadian Bacon
9. Chirac & La Grande Nation
10. He Hates America, Loves Mistresses and Wears a Beret
11. Be Thankful to the French
12. Send me Jesse Jackson
13. Baghdad, Birthplace of Civilization
14. We Are Still Learning – From Goebbels
15. German Soul Above Them All
16. Marx, Engels, Hitler, Schroeder & Who Comes Next?
17. Franco-German Global Tax Initiative for the US
18. Kofi, Kojo & The Sacred Cow
19. A Prize for Kofi
20. UN, Booze & The Orgies
21. Indict Americans, Disregard Our Friends
22. Give Up, Americans
23. Black On Track
24. Cash’ n Kerry & the Chameleon
25. World Leaders for Kerry
26. The Left Coast & the America-Bashers
27. The Ketchup Queen
28. The Moore Effect: Facts, Fiction & Propaganda
29. Fahrenheit 9/11 - An Editorial Cartoon
30. Bush, Iraq & the Big Lie
31. Blood Hounds & the Liberals
32. We Hijacked Peace & Anti-War Movement
33. Peaceniks Who Failed to Pass the History Test
34. "HillaryUS" & the Socialist Party of America
35. From Feminism to Socialism
36. ACLU & Legal Blackmail
37. ACLU Judges Imposing the Law
38. ACLU Changing the Nation
39. Free Speech, Porn Talk Online & Gay Marriage
40. Rewriting History & The Sleeping Giant
41. Islamic Groups Okay – Christian Churches Not
42. Secular Education Versus Traditional Values
43. Equal Access For Everybody Except Christians & Jews
44. Free Speech For Liberals Only
45. Judges For the New World Order
46. Get Churches Out Of My View
47. Gay Sex Education Yes, Public Prayer No
48. Allow Islamic Propaganda – Outlaw Christian Views
49. Sacrifice National Security – Promote Legal Circus
50. Freedom of Speech, Pornography Included
51. Kill Traditional Marriage – Same Sex Okay
52. All Countries Protect Their Borders – We Don’t
53. Open-Borders Conspiracy
54. Importing Revolution
55. US Border Control – An American Joke
56. Don’t Bother Us With Facts
57. What the Conservatives Want
58. Eco-Terror Made in USA
59. Green Goes Overboard
60. Ralph Nader’s Skeleton Closet
61. Self-Appointed Moralist
62. The Rules Don’t Apply To Me
63. Abuse of Trust
64. Weapons of Mass Distortion
65. Liberals: News ‘R Us
66. CBS: Yell at Bush, Be Mellow with Dems
67. NBC: Fifty Eight to Five
68. ABC: Peter Jenning’s Red Meat
69. Liberal News – Breaking News
70. Liberal Media Bias: Hitting a New Low
71. Hollywood Phonies
72. Reagan’s Vision – Liberal’s Nightmare
73. Why We Liberals Hate Bush, Reagan and Others
74. What They Have and We Don’t
75. Americans Who Let Us Hijack America
I couldn't agree with you more
Posted by: James at September 11, 2004 04:53 AMAmen!
I'm not sure of Amigo's gripe.
I'm glad the Log Cabiners stuck to their principles. I wish the ABBers would do the same.
Posted by: Brian at September 10, 2004 01:16 PMI am speechless. I pray that James Baldwin doesn't come out of the grave and beat you in the head for stupidity and crassness.
May the ancestors be compassionate of such obtuse brother.
We're on the same page Dennis - I have absolutely no idea how to end this war - yes, I'm convinced that it is a war on ourselves.
I guess that there's some unfinished business left over from the 60's & 70's - I'm sorry to have bequethed it to you.
I can only hope that the war ends soon and sometime before the perpetrators die off.
Posted by: dorsano at September 9, 2004 01:42 AM