When I read posts that characterize all Republicans as “uneducated,” I get pretty frustrated with the discourse in our political system right now.
I am a Democratic and quite liberal. I happen to be married to someone who is 180 politically. And his friends are mostly also of similar views. Not all, but a lot.
They aren’t stupid people. Let’s see - husband has a masters plus double majored for his b.a. degrees. Friends are graduates of law schools. Own and lead businesses. Work in some fairly impressive government and law enforcement jobs. All own guns and like to hunt, get outdoors, are very loyal to their friends, mostly grew up in homes with parents that stayed together for right or wrong. My husband’s folks are far older than most of my peers - WW2 generation.
You know, some of the conversation I hear from my husband and his friends sounds pretty crazy these days, but I think that people being dismissed as stupid just for having a different opinion is not helpful.
Maybe we should consider that some of the fears that people express come out of different value systems, people who grew up with a certain sense of right and wrong that believes in being self-sufficient. I also perceive a lot of deep seated racism, but then, also sometimes these are people who have worked as ambulance drivers and police in very bad neighborhoods, so also, people who have sacrificed a lot to help poor people in ways that most of us cannot imagine.
I’m not arguing that the Republican point of view is one I agree with; but I do think the fears people have shouldn’t be belittled as coming from stupid, ignorant folk who simply regurgitate what Fox News tells them.
These people most likely chuckled when Cheney shot a man in the face and was not interrogated by police for a day and a half. These very same people would cry bloody murder and terrorism if Obama or Biden did the same thing. Polls show that many of these people blame Obama for the 2008 economic collapse and the bailout.
Anybody that skews the historical facts to fit a putrid narrative, contaminating important discourse to such extremes, over and over again, contributes nothing of value and deserves no leeway anymore. These are supposed to be adults, yet they have kindergarten-level minds and are intractable about remaining that way.
I guess there’s still a hangover from MaCarthyism where Socialism == Communism == EVIL.Whereas some aspects of socialism, such as universal healthcare, are quite nice really.
I’m sure the McCarthyism hangover is why some folks are more receptive to lies about single payer, but the sad truth is Americans of all stripes have been successfully worked over by the insurance industry and that’s why we’re still the last industrialized nation to not have a single payer system for health care. For example, via Cigna:
I have universal healthcare here in England. It warms the cockles of my heart when I can get my kids in to paediatric A&E within 30 seconds of entering a hospital, and not worry about paying for it.
[quote=“ChickieD, post:46, topic:12018, full:true”]
When I read posts that characterize all Republicans as “uneducated,” I get pretty frustrated with the discourse in our political system right now.[/quote]
Bleh. It’s just easier to think of everyone as a caricature than try to relate to them as real people. You know, truck driving red necks with Confederate flags on their hats and a NASCAR edition of the Bible vs Birkenstock wearing hippies losing control over their emotions over deforestation. Never mind that most people have views and values that are covered by both parties, that most don’t completely toe the party line, or that really there isn’t a huge difference between the two parties.
Nah - it’s easier to ridicule people for their fears and doubts, and then the next minute insist that their fears and doubts on another subject are completely with merit and should be taken seriously. I think politics poisons critical thought. Both sides have issues that have been completely politicized. Never mind the actual evidence, everyone has taken a side with their prejudices, and to open one’s mind to another line of thought is giving into the enemy.
Personally, I’d like us to adopt Australia’s voting scheme so we can get some more third party people in office.
Old white people losing power. They’re scared, and they’re blaming people who are different.
That’s a bit of an oversimplification, but it lies at the heart of the matter. If you’re part of the class of people who have traditionally enjoyed a privileged status in society and you see it start to go away, you get angry and scared. Obama just makes for a good scapegoat.
I’m not a yank and I see it the same way. The retardlicans (feel free to use that one) want a bigger military but not healthcare? IDIOTIC. AS. FUCK.
Thank bob they and their supporters are dying off day by day and any moderates still left are ashamed by what is happening at the behest of a few tea bagger loonies.
America: The developed world laughs at your healthcare “system”.
Did you see the clusterfuck that was the recent Australian elections? My Australian friends despair of the state of their politics. At least they don’t have to talk about Pauline Hanson any more.
I guess not. I just read about the whole concept of being able to vote for the person you really want, but if they don’t win you your vote goes to your second choice, etc. I read a great article after the 2000 election about a half dozen voting schemes and they all had their merits.
Is it one of those things where it works better in theory than in practice?
Oh, instant run-off is a much better system than First Past The Post, certainly (particular when combined with something as absurd anachronistic as the Electoral College). I’m still pissed off that the idiots back in the UK voted to keep FPTP in the recent referendum. The arsehole Conservatives torpedoed that by insisting on (the known to be flawed) AV being the only option instead of AV+ or proper Proportional Representation (because they’d never win another election ever under anything other than FPTP, and the moronic LibDems caved in), so we’re still stuck with the same shit system we’ve always had.
Personally, I like the idea of Approval Voting. You vote for anyone you think is acceptable, and can vote for as many or few candidates as you like.
Sadly, whatever system, it seems the politicians are still ass-clowns.
“So,” said Arthur, hoping he wasn’t sounding ridiculously obtuse, “why
don’t the people get rid of the lizards?” “It honestly doesn’t occur
to them,” said Ford. “They’ve all got the vote, so they all pretty
much assume that the government they’ve voted in more or less
approximates to the government they want.” “You mean they actually
vote for the lizards?” “Oh yes,” said Ford with a shrug, “of course.”
“But,” said Arthur, going for the big one again, “why?” “Because if
they didn’t vote for a lizard,” said Ford, “the wrong lizard might get
in. Got any gin?”
Yeah, I might feel better about that if I didn’t see my insurance company blimp floating around all the time, or their feel good commercials. They have to spend a certain amount on care, but that doesn’t mean your care.
