On Nov 12, 2008, at 8:18 PM, Jon Louis Mann wrote:
> i think there is a difference in the bitterness on the left and the
> venom on the right. both sides feel they are right, but the hate
> from the right is based on fear, hate and greed, while the left is
> motivated by idealism, and what defines true patriotism.
Ah. But this language itself is so emotionally loaded that it does
nothing but contribute to the polarization. ("Sure, everyone's pissed,
but the left is pissed for more moral reasons!") The sad truth is that
the left isn't all that different from the right, not as long as big
money continues to control the discourse in DC.
Political winds shift, but the lobbyists just change parties to give
their attention to. Little else becomes different. You might not have
been around to sniff the social winds in the US in 1980, but I was,
and let me tell you that the Dems were quite thoroughly corrupted by
power and money back then; one of the reasons Reagan won was because
of the national trend against abuse of power by Democrats.
And, FWIW, McCain *was* quite charismatic in 2000. He actually stood a
good chance against W until he was torpedoed by extremists in the
Republican party itself -- the same PAC that formed "Swift Boat
Veterans for Truth" to attack Kerry in 2004.
To me it seems that there's no real reason, if you're so motivated, to
continue attacking the GOP. It's in the middle of its own self-
destruction. A better approach might be to talk to the moderates, the
centrist Republicans, who are very much like centrist Dems such as
Obama, and are quite as horrified by Palin as many others are, and
start trying to heal some breaches rather than continuing to hammer at
the idea of "them" (whoever they are) being "wrong" (whatever that
means).
Maybe together we can all rediscover what it means for the GOP to be
the party of Lincoln.
--
Warren Ockrassa
Blog | http://indigestible.nightwares.com/
Books | http://books.nightwares.com/
Web | http://www.nightwares.com/
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