Re: British Customs [ OT ]

Del wrote:

My observation is that
those who fall more on the left or liberal side of the spectrum seem
to have more trouble understanding why someone might not think the way
they do and are more likely to attribute it to stupidity, ignorance,
or evil.


I would cite many relatives of friends, Rush Limbaugh, news commentators,
their listeners, the RNC and their listeners as counter-examples. Of those
falling on the Right side of the spectrum (present company excepted), I hear
even more in tolerance, disrespect and the assumptiom that anyone "on the
other side" must be an idiot or, as you say, evil.

Both sides seem not to listen very well to the other, and to justify their
own deafness by demonizing and trivializing the other side. While I held
more conservative sentiments (long pre-bush). I was very aware of how
"extreme" and "intolerant" liberals were. Now that I'm less sympathetic to
the party that is destroying the middle class and practicing social
engineering by transferring all our wealth to the most wealthy, I see them
as "extreme" and "intolerant".

Certainly the recent Republican convention showed disdain - I would say
hatred - for "sophistication" (intelligence? education?) and "European
ideas" (anything more recent than 1950?). If they use these to sell their
candidate, they must beleive that these themes appeal to their target
audience. QED

Probably this country will continue its current power-dive towards the past
and poverty until one or the other party (both?) recognize that solutions
are distinct from ideology, and that the country is not "red" or "blue", but
rather "hurting" and in need of some solutions that might work, and not
simply anger-driven "so there!" programs that will be dismantled upon
regimeme-change.

</begin rant>

I see the Republicans as dismantling "the Great Society" and perhaps even
"the New Deal". They seem to seek a return to the world of the Cold War and
an attitude of "the business of America is Business". I think they will
only acomplish the Great Depression.

Reading between the lines of campaign rhetoric, I imagine that I hear
'20s-style isolationism coupled with an even-more-arrogant-than
post-WWII-attitude of "you must do whatever what we want because we could
bomb you".

(Some years ago The Onion headlined an article purporitng to be the new
American foreign policy:
"We do whatever we want, and you do whatever we want".)

Well, once our economy has deteriorated into debt to China plus half a dozen
trillionaires lording it over peasants begging for part-time jobs at
McDonalds selling burgers to Chionese tourists (hyperbole), we will not be
as much of a danger to the rest of the world as we are now.

Perhaps I've become an extremist as well. It seems to me that the last few
Replublican campaigns have been based on fear - fear of the future, and even
fear of the present. And a bizzarre theory that we can acheive peace by
exterminating anyone who hates us, because we're afraid of them. Is it
"kill them all, God will know his own" again? That is even more
status-quo-ante than even I accuse them of.

</end rant>

Rick Corey
Tired of Ranting Ideologs Even if I'm Becoming One in the Pacific NorthWet

=======
"Del Cecchi" <delcecchiofthenorth@xxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
news:6jnjidF45nc9U1@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"brian w edginton" <edgo.2@xxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
news:s73dd4pharn6iblqp9s9r6rttf8h4r1llk@xxxxxxxxxx
On Sun, 21 Sep 2008 11:08:17 -0500, Del Cecchi
<delcecchinospamofthenorth@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:

brian w edginton wrote:
On Sat, 20 Sep 2008 21:54:17 -0500, "Del Cecchi"
<delcecchiofthenorth@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:

Then you would love "the trouble with kansas".


But, then, I didn't "love' "Deerhunting"....as I said. It was
depressing and I had trouble getting through it..
But education has its costs.

.

You just have to recognize propaganda for what it is, and read it with
the appropriate point of view. The left in the US seems to have a hard
time understanding why everyone doesn't think like they do.


So, anyone dissenting from the conservative view is ignorant?
Irrational, maybe?

I guess that means that their facts and statistics are to be
disregarded as delusions.

Are you deliberately misinterpreting what I wrote? Or was I unclear?
Let me try again...

In the USA there are folks with a wide variety of political opinions (even
ignoring the lunatics on both sides). My observation is that those who
fall more on the left or liberal side of the spectrum seem to have more
trouble understanding why someone might not think the way they do and are
more likely to attribute it to stupidity, ignorance, or evil. An example
would be the Obama line about "they are bitter and cling to guns and
religion" or the sentiments of the book "What's the Matter with Kansas?:
How Conservatives Won the Heart of America" or many of the posts on the
huffington post or daily kos.

To me, this attitude seems elitist and arrogant. How can they claim to
favor equality and democracy while harboring such beliefs about their
fellow citizens?

I hope this clears it up. Remember that there is a lot of the US that the
media doesn't cover very well.

del



.

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