Can We Tone Down The Rhetoric, Please?

I am a political junkie. Its in my nature. I am also a liberal. I will vote for the people with the 'D' next to their name unless the party with the 'D' changes its views. Most of my political views are relatively stable. Sometimes, they are more mainstream then others. But I try to respect people's opinions regardless of whether I agree with them.

I hate, hate, hate, hate, when people are disrespectful of others just because they disagree with them. I am soooooo sick of people acting as though the people they disagree with are dumb or morons or whatever. Do I think President Bush is a Rhodes scholar? No. But do I think he's an idiot? No. And even on the days when I think Bush must, in fact, be a moron, I don't think his supporters are.

Its one thing to disagree with someone. It is completely different to think that the person you disagree with is stupid or backwards or evil. C'mon. Can we please grow up?

Conneticut woman thinks that Conservatives are evil, Bible thumping, irrational fanatics with low IQs. Um, no. They're just people that disagree with you. The average Conservative is just as smart as the average Liberal. That's just the way it is.

When I was in high school, I had a friend who completely disagreed with me on everything. During the 2000 election, we talked crap to each other every day. There was an understanding that once we were able to vote, we might as well not, because we would cancel each other out. (We were nerds. We were lame. We still are. I don't care.) But even though we disagreed with each other, we didn't insult each other. Even though we both knew that if the Revolution came, we would have to fight to the death, we never resorted to calling each other idiots.

Why? Because we had respect for each other.


The annoying thing is that people gravitate towards a simplistic world view. Liberals are questioning the war? They must hate America! Conservatives are still going on with an unpopular war? They must be stupid and evil!

Can we please grow up?

I'm finding myself increasingly defending Conservatives, Bush, etc, over the war. I don't support the war. I don't support Bush. I don't hate the America haters. But I realize that there were PLAUSIBLE reasons to support the war. There were PLAUSIBLE benefits that could have happened and that might still happen. You're not a moron if you thought the war would turn out better. Millions of people thought that. It was PLAUSIBLE.

I wasn't wrong a few months after the war when there were no WMDs and I thought it was nonsense. And millions of people who happened to think the war would turn out better are not dumb for thinking that. They may not even be wrong. Under different circumstances, things may have worked out.

I really wish we would stop beating people over the head. I wish we would respect each other more. I don't care if you like me. I don't care if you think I'm right. But can you please accept the fact that if I disagree with you, I may not, in fact, be a moron? Maybe I disagree with you because I have a different set of life experiences and therefore a different set of values.

Maybe if we respected each other, we could find some common ground.




Oh, who am I kidding?

I'm right, and you're all morons. Yep, that's a more rational way to look at things.