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I recently came across a website CompassionAndChoices.org that speaks extensively of our "right to die." At first, I began to dismiss it as a suicide and euthanasia site, but then I kept reading...
Before you go out trying to listen to and understand the other side, be warned. You will find that they come from a very strange world totally unlike your own.
Recently, while patrolling the blogosphere, I came across an interesting theory about what makes one either pro-choice or pro-life. It seems that for many, it's all about sex...
History is complex. Economics is also complex. The history of the economy is extremely complex. In order to understand it, some relevant facts must be left out and a narrative must be imposed to sift patterns out of the chaos. Add partisanship to the mix, and you will end up with (at least) two very different stories.
Americans of African descent (not to mention other minorities) vote for Democrats by wide margins. I'm still in the process of learning why this is, but it seems to have something to do with an impression that many Republicans are borderline racist. In my lifetime I have heard many Democrats state, both implicitly and explicitly, that Republicans have racist tendencies. Democrats, on the other hand, have always stood up for the downtrodden. At least, so the narrative goes.
I recently came across this blog post claiming that Sarah Palin (and the right wing in general) were consistently more violent in word and deed than the left. I think that perhaps the author read a bit too much into Palin's words and assumed that she was inciting violent activity. I think maybe she was speaking metaphorically. The author also went on to claim that the right often gets a free pass in the media while the left gets called out for every little outburst.
According to some, if you oppose President Obama, or think his policies are dangerous, you're a racist.
Sometimes those we hold up as examples of everything that is wrong with the other side have merely been mischaracterized, or grossly misunderstood. I recently came across an opinion piece claiming that Glenn Beck had erroneously stated on his show that the Jews had killed Jesus. It was further implied that Mr. Beck was fomenting anti-semitism.
As I wrote before in my entry Partisan's Disease, members of both parties are quick to see the worst in the other side.
It isn't only liberal democrats who run scared when they hear Sarah Palin is coming to town. Even those who agree with her hold deep reservations about voting for her. One shouldn't assume that all Palin-haters are crazy, mad-dog liberals.
It's crazy statements like these that get the more excitable and weaker-minded among us whipped into a frenzy of agitation. Is it any wonder that we don't talk to each other? End the partisanship.
In my life, I have read several theories supposedly explaining what it is that makes one a conservative or a liberal. While some show some promise, they all fall short. Recently, I came across a new variation on an old theory...
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AuthorHi, I'm Dan. I like chocolate, hiking, and politics. Archives
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