So often I hear about the political differences in our society. "We're so bi-polar", I hear a great deal. "We can't agree on anything", is another.
Of course we can't. Our differences are not political, they're philosophical. And philosophies are nearly impossible to change, especially if the opposite side offers nothing in terms of an alternative.
Let's start with something small, a friggin' movie. A TV movie came out a few weeks ago called, "The Path to 9/11". Hotly debated before it even hit the screen, this movie was derived from thousands of hours of research of the 9/11 commission's findings, as well as direct testimony and interviews. But lo and behold, anyone I've talked to who is against the current administration won't even discuss the movie. Apparently President Clinton said almost everything preceding January 2001 was a fabrication or someone's interpretation of the facts. Interestingly, the conservative right fought the 9/11 Commission from the beginning, and there was no doubt Democrat's were tickled to death with the commission's findings - until this movie did what most people did not do...show people what they found in a format that wasn't 19,000 pages of bureaucratic-speak.
Okay. He's (President Clinton) not only entitled to his opinion, he may actually be correct. But...
I'm not here to debate the movie. I don't even care about the movie. I'm here to make the point that our country is not bi-polar politically - we're bi-polar philosophically, and we are so by choice.
I am no more interested in hearing someone say that President Clinton never had a legitimate shot at taking out Osama Bin Laden, than a liberal is interested in hearing that Bin Laden fostered, built, and began deployment of his army during the 8 years President Clinton was in office. Conservative talk radio doesn't want to hear a liberal call in and make sense, and liberal newspapers like the Sentinel News Brand don't want letters to the editor with a conservative slant. And on and on. I don't believe in your shit, and you're under no obligation to believe in mine. That's the way it is.
We will not pull together; we will not band as one; and we will not speak with one voice. Our country is too large, too diverse, and both teams in the extreme left and right wars have perverted the freedoms of speech, liberties, and the right to pursue happiness that our forefathers so thoughtfully and carefully constructed. Just click on "Next Blog" and just keep clicking until you find some armchair conspiracy theorist, and in particular - arm chair physicist - who will tell you all about controlled demolitions and the fall of the towers. That'll provide enough information on the type of people I will never associate with or even give one second of my time to. And when you find out the guy with the 200-blog website on 9-11 conspiracy is actually the third-shift assistant manager at a Des Moines Burger King, and that he also possesses the largest collection of Star Trek and Dungeons and Dragons memorabilia in the country, don't say I didn't tell you so ahead of time.
Drawn are the battle lines, and verbal disagreement is our weapon of choice (except for the guy above, who would prefer "phasers on stun"). We use phrases like "religious right" and "left wingers" with such vitriol and voracity, they've become the rallying cries for millions on either side. If gay marriage is opposed publicly, liberal America accuses conservatives with muddying the "real" issues, oblivious to the fact that gay marriage agenda's are the exclusive property of liberals and are being pushed as we speak. If the left asks questions about Haliburton or wonders about the status of Iraq, the far right accuses them of a lack of patriotism. Both sides accuse the other of insensitivity, and both are correct. There are some out there that are so blind with their hatred, the mere mention of the word "Bush" sends them into a frenzy. Now, I myself could do without the Martin Sheen's and the Rosie's of our world, but I've never hated anyone who is willing to do public service for our nation, regardless of whether or not I liked them. Did you hear me? I don't hate anyone willing to do public service.
If YOU DO, then maybe you should drag your narrow-minded ass down to city hall and register to do it yourself. And that goes for you too, gay marriage bashers, bible-thumpers, and unflinching hard-asses. You too need a swift kick into next month as well.
In any case, we're not coming together, so forget about it. We need to figure out how to make it work like it is, with all the disparity. And we can start by forever eliminating the phrase, "In a perfect world", cuz there ain't no such thing, homeboy.
Oh, and somebody tell the conspiracy theory guy to go to the store and buy some shampoo.
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3 comments:
He needs some toothpaste too.
incredibly interesting post. i've been bitching about the disparity so much that i've forgotten my own rule, complain for a few minutes than accept and move on. you're right, we'll probably never get the two sides moving closer together, so might as well find a way to accept that but still make things work.
it's times like this that i wish i had a time machine. were these great differences always there? and it's just gotten glossed over with the passage of time?
the things that i have problems coming to terms with are:
a) the pure hatred people have. mention clinton to the wrong people and they lose it. mention bush to others and the same thing happens. give me solid, concrete reasons why someone bothers you. but people get so mad they can't think straight or speak coherently sometimes.
b) i have friend who lean freakishly one way or the other. but for the most part, the vast majority of my friends are somewhere down the middle. i think a large part of america is somewhere in the middle. but it doesn't seem as if that middle ground is always successfully represented.
c) candidate "a" and candidate "b" run for office. a beats b, but just barely. why doesn't a take that marginal victory as a sign or message from the people and tailor his actions accordingly?
d) the refusal of americans to accept acouple things about the world. like the fact that there are a huge number of people who hate us just because we're americans. and there are a large number of people who would volunteer for, and possibly sacrifice their life for a chance to kill any of us, never having met us, just because of where we live. and it doesn't matter if they apologize for bush's actions when they're touring in other countries or if they have a "don't blame me, i didn't vote for him" bumper sticker on their car or not. and it's been this way for decades and decades.
Were these great differences always there?
I don't know...from what I have read though, I would say the answer is "no". Back in WWI and WWII times, there were those who opposed our entrance into those wars, but once they stated their case, they jumped on the bandwagon of support.
Of course, those generations still had their own set of issues. There was a lack of a substantial middle class, racial and gender bias still flourished, etc. The point I'm making here is it was much easier for the country to band together because the "banding group" was essentially white suburbanite males and their wives.
Today, every race, religion, and gender is represented not only in our government, but also as an unofficial or official public voice. This of course is a wonderful thing socially, but it does lead to philosophical differences based upon social status. Like it or not, we're still a nation run primarily by wealthy white dudes, many of whom are so old and set in their ways they'll never capitulate their beliefs or change their attitude. In time, we may see change...or we may not. There is still solid racial and ethnic instability as evidenced by the reactions to Katrina and Immigration reform, a lack of women in prominent corporate positions of authority, a lack of minority representation in the administration of professional sports teams even though the playing field is the exact opposite. And now the "new minority" that has arisen with respect to sexual preference and their issues of wanting equality as well.
As far as American's accepting the truth of the world...well...just turn on CNN then turn on FOXnews as they both discuss the same topic from diametrically opposing viewpoints...and these are the so-called educated. If the educated cannot agree, how is the average Jane or Joe who can barely ballance their checkbook supposed to understand the intricacies and delicate balance of world politics and behavior?
We've a long long long ways to go, and with or without the unity, we still have to find a way to make it work.
We will.
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