Constitutionality, Anthropological Global Warming and Nazi’s, Oh My!!!

by Brandon Kumm in Politics, January 5, 2010

It is becoming more and more difficult to have a reasonable and rational debate these days. If we talk about what may be a different and co-operative approach to health care the debate devolves quickly into talking points about constitutionality and death panels. If we talk about climate change the conversation implodes into name calling and demonizing Al Gore. If we talk about what we may do as a society to help ourselves it becomes an argument about how one side is full of fascist NAZI’s and the other side is full of Communist socialists. We’ve become so polarized and ideological that we’ve forgotten that although we may disagree on the particulars, we may still be able to compromise on solutions.

Follow The Money

So, who wins when we go at each other like rabid wolves? Well, as Deep Throat said, “Follow the money.” If you ask someone on either side who has bought into their particular brand of groupthink they will tell you that “their” people are as ideologically pure as the driven snow. They believe that people like Michelle Malkin, Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity, Ann Coulter, Randi Rhodes, Ed Schultz, Michael Savage, Keith Olbermann and countless others speak for them. They believe in their hearts that people like the ones mentioned are somehow “on their side”. And maybe they are. But, the fact of the matter is that they won’t make money from compromise and reasonable debate. They don’t make a living being reasonable and talking about solutions that get everyone a little of what they want. They make a living being as radical and strident as possible. They make money off of the backs of people that want to believe that the problems of this nation are someone else’s fault. They are selling personal irresponsibility and we’re buying.

The Blame Game

It can’t be the fault of progressives. If the damn reactionaries would just get out of the way of progress we could fix things. It can’t be the fault of conservatives. If the terrorist loving, tree hugging socialist liberals would quit trying to have a green, hippie love fest on the White House lawn we could destroy our enemies and revive our economy. It can’t be the fault of liberals. If the xenophobic, money loving, fascist conservatives would just care about people over profits then we could love our planet and our fellow man. It can’t be the fault of Democrats. If the Republicans would stop with their obstructionism then we could get something done. It can’t be the fault of Republicans. If the Democrats would stop trying to destroy the Constitution then we could all have freedom.

Read more in Politics

« Dick Chaney is an Idiot

Does Political Character Flavor Add to or Encourage Terror in Our Enemies? »

Sound familiar? Well, it should. And it’s wrong. No one single group is to blame. Sadly, we’ve done this to ourselves. Do the progressives have a point? Absolutely. Do the reactionaries have a point? Absolutely. Do the liberals and conservatives both have the right on their side? Sure. Are the Democrats and the Republicans both to blame? Yep.