| T O P I C R E V I E W |
| Christina |
Posted - November 08 2004 : 1:36:48 PM
Here's an important column that ran in the Detroit Free Press, written by Mitch Albom, who happens to work for my same newspaper corporation. This is an important column, folks. It shows the stupidity of all the taking sides and the labelling and the finger pointing that has been going on both before and now after this election. Read it and think about it, folks. Just because the guy or woman next to you voted differently from you or thinks differently from you doesn't mean they're bad. We're a big, big country with a lot of different beliefs and attitudes. We need to learn to live with that fact, or this little experiment in Democracy will have failed big time.
We have seen the enemy _ and it's us}<
(NOT INCLUDED IN YOUR KRT NEWS SERVICE SUBSCRIPTION. See purchase information below)<
By Mitch Albom<
Knight Ridder Newspapers<
(KRT)<
Remember that kid in ``The Sixth Sense''? He saw dead people? America, based on the election, has become that kid. Only we see enemies. Wherever we look. And they frighten us.<
Straight people see gays and fear they will turn their boys into sissies and their girls into Ellen DeGeneres. Gay people see straights and fear they want to ``change them back'' or legislate them out of existence.<
The religious fear those less faithful will smash the Ten Commandments. The nonreligious fear those more faithful want to shove the Ten Commandments down their throats.<
Conservatives see liberals and fear they want the whole country barefoot, communist and living on welfare. Liberals see conservatives and fear they want the whole country to look like ``Leave It to Beaver.''<
Poor people see rich people and figure they must have scammed the system to get all they have. Rich people see poor people and think they must be scamming the system to get their tax dollars.<
The pro-war crowd fears peaceniks will invite terrorists to our shores. The anti-war crowd fears hawks create new terrorists every day.<
The pro-Bush crowd thinks the other side wants to destroy a faithful, honest public servant. The anti-Bush crowd thinks voters are being duped by a former frat boy who uses religious hot buttons to license his cold heart.<
And around we go ...<
Straight people fear that ``activist judges'' will turn our country into a Key West toga party. Gays fear that if they can't go to judges, they'll never undo the discrimination locked into our system.<
Religious types fear stem cell researchers are on a slippery slope to baby killing. Stem cell researchers fear religious types are on a slippery slope to the Crusades.<
Conservatives see the ``liberal'' media as a place where minorities get jobs because they are minorities. Liberals see the ``conservative media'' as the home office for white males over 50.<
Poor people get mad when rich people find ways not to pay their taxes. Rich people get mad when poor people don't have to pay taxes.<
The pro-Bush crowd thinks his critics can't stand a man who is firm in his convictions. The anti-Bush crowd thinks his supporters are morons who admire stubbornness because it's easier on their brains.<
The white majority fears that minorities are multiplying so fast, they will take over the country. The minorities fear the white majority will deny their existence to keep control of the country.<
The people who never travel think the rest of the world can take a hike _ who needs 'em? The people who always travel think the rest of the world is ready to take a hike _ and that's what scares them.<
Gun lovers see their critics as nerdy, liberal girlie men who only want to take away their rights. Gun critics see the gun-loving crowd as yahoos who would rather fire than switch.<
Evangelical Christians feel the country was started by people like them, and it ought to stay that way. Evangelical critics feel the country was started by people escaping relig |
| 2 L A T E S T R E P L I E S (Newest First) |
| Christina |
Posted - November 08 2004 : 5:01:02 PM
GG - I'm sorry to hear such a rift has opened up in your family. That's the problem with so much of the language and rhetoric that's emerged in this most recent political cycle...the discussion has taken on a tone that makes it seemingly impossible for folks on different sides to reconcile with one another! This is what happens when one side "demonizes" the other...I really hope the rift is healed soon!
This brings me to my latest problem with the political language being used these days ... I listen everyday to the Washington Journal call in on C-SPAN and I read several political wires and message boards a day -- and there are two things I'm hearing consistently that burn me and confuse me.
The first is the refrain of "If the Kerry supporters don't like it they should leave..." which has been the mantra for at least a dozen hot-headed Bush supporters on C-SPAN. Anybody that comes up with the logic that people who don't agree with something should leave this country doesn't know what America was founded on...anybody ever hear the saying "I might not agree with what you're saying, but I'll defend to the death your right to say it." I can't stand Ann Coulter but I'd never suggest she be deported for her rantings...
The other thing that's driving me nuts is the constant harping from many columnists and commentators about the "elite" who support Kerry. Can I ask a question? What exactly is the "elite?" Is it rich people, because if that's the qualification then about 95% of the Republican establishment fits it. Or is the "elite" people who have a certain level of education? Does having a college degree or a masters degree or a doctorate make you a member of the "elite?" I got in a discussion one time with a guy who called me the "media elite." I found this entertaining because even though I have a degree from a very small college in New York, I also make under $35K a year and drive a car with enough miles on it to have circled the globe a couple times...if I'm the elite, I wish somebody would call my credit card company and tell them so I could get a better deal...
Are the "elite" people who think they're better than everybody else? If that's so, then I know several right-wing Republicans who fit that bill. Or is the "Elite" people who have certain ideas about multi-culturalism or pro-choice or pacifism or whatever?
Or are the "elite" people who happen to look at arguments in multi-faceted ways instead of in black and white?
I'd really like to know, because if we're having a backlash against people who think they're better than everybody else, then I'd gladly backlash against folks like that from both political spectrums. But if we're having a backlash against the well-educated, or folks who like to debate all sides of an issue, then we have a real problem.
|
| Gadget Girl |
Posted - November 08 2004 : 3:00:20 PM
Whew...I thought I was the only one seeing enemies!!!
Nah, *I* don't really see enemies, but I think I know some folks that do! This article sums up some of the stuff I've been feeling. I may not agree with some peoples view points, but that doesn't make either one of us WRONG! My mother and sister as of this weekend (at least one of them is VERY intelligent - the mother one) aren't speaking to each other because of one hurting the other's feelings over the election. This has never, ever happened in my family. Nope, no real irregular separation of thoughts going on in the country - RIGHT!!!
GG |
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