Okay so I’ve been avoiding this topic for a while, but I feel like it’s time to ask. Seriously, what’s with all the ugly?
Right off the bat, in the spirit of full disclosure, let me just say I voted for Barack Obama. I voted for hope and change, as corny as that might sound. And I’m still hopeful things will change, despite all evidence to the contrary.
I understand that I don’t see the world the same way that many of my conservative friends do, and I’m mostly okay with that. We agree to disagree. In the debate over health care reform (about which I feel VERY strongly), so far none of my friends have called me names, or shouted me down when I tried to express an opinion, or, to my knowledge, drawn Hitler mustaches on my picture while calling me a socialist. (They laugh at me sometimes, when I jump up and down and stomp my feet, but I don’t hold that against them.)
So I can say with great certainty that not all conservatives have lost their ability to engage in honest discourse, but it seems an awful lot of them have. And, worse, they are ugly – shouting down the disabled and wearing guns to town hall meetings, making up death panels, scaring the elderly, and comparing Obama’s health care reform to Hitler’s “final solution.”
And beyond health care, there is the absolute ludicrousness around President Obama’s address to school children. He will be telling them “to work hard, wash their hands and remember that J.K. Rowling’s first Harry Potter book was rejected 12 times before it was published.” And of course, we all know where talk like that leads. First our children are staying in school, then they’re washing their hands, then they’re card-carrying socialists.
It’s that simple. C’mon people, it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure this out. Hide your children now!
Yes, I have my tongue firmly planted in my cheek – it keeps me from saying things I might regret later. I wish a few more people would plant their tongues if you want to know the truth.
So what do you think? What’s with all the people spewing ugly these days? I really am curious.
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And now for something completely different… Holy cow, I LOVE this blog. Joe is making a paper toy a day for a year. The designs are downloadable so you can make them yourself. (Yeah, I’m going to, because check out what’s on Day 108!)
It makes me so sad to see and read about these attitudes. I can’t even bring myself to look at those videos, honestly. What is WRONG with people in this country?
A part of me hopes that this sort of thing is just(just?) the Media exposing the skewed views of a select(but vocal and hateful) minority in this country.
Judy I’m right there with you babe. If you want me to hold the ladder while you climb up on something and shout to the masses, I will.
Keep the discussion going.
I cried most of inaugeral day. I was just so freaking happy that we were finally going to change direction……change takes time….and reasonable people sometimes have to outshout the ones that are used to doing the shouting.
But hoping that they will hear what’s being said….that might take a miracle.
We just gotta keep sayin it…
hugs hon!
Great post.
Karen :0)
Your post reminded me of when I was helping clean out my father-in-law’s cabinet shop back in 1999. At that time, all day long (at least it felt that way), Rush Limbaugh was on the radio, spewing his visceral rhetoric about the left. It made me roll my eyes most of the time, but, it was just Rush, after all. One crazy opinion.
These days, that 1999 Limbaugh feels like a moderate Republican. It’s sad, a bit scary and pretty disrespectful.
You want to talk? Let’s talk. You want to disagree and have a discourse about it? Let’s discuss it. But this extreme, conspiracy ranker is spinning further and further out of control. I believe the Republicans (the true, blue Americans at least) should be stepping up and saying, “enough!” Time for some adult supervision.
cmw
Tina, I have to stop watching (and listening) too. I hope you’re right. I’m encouraged by (most of) the conservatives I know who aren’t ugly. (Just wrong about health care.) ;-)
Karen, Yes, hold my ladder. I’ll wear something sparkly. Thank you for the encouragement, baby!
cmw, I agree. And it’s scary. The constant ratcheting up of the rhetoric. Someone needs to say enough’s enough for sure.
I commented on this in the wrong place(I am new to this). Interesting how most of us agree something needs to be done but disagree on how to do it. Name calling and being disrespectful never achieves anything positive. It is especially disrespectful when one is accused of saying something they didn’t say or a comment is taken out of contect. This is done all the time. Since there is no way to stop it we have to be very careful in evaluating what is thrown out as truth. In that regard I find both sides at fault.
Mr. B, I know! I approved your comment and then couldn’t find you! Whew! All fixed. I hope you know that I consider you part of the sane crowd. You’re absolutely right about both sides being guilty of taking comments out of context. I’ve sometimes been stunned when I’ve read or watched what was actually said.
Thank you for commenting! I was so excited to find you here! You can come disagree with me anytime! ;-)
Actually I find agreeing is much more fun than disagreeing. But then I think when everybody agrees something must be wrong so I work on being agreeable while actually disagreeing. Love your blog.
You go, girlfriend. It is too much ugly, and it makes me sad. Sad for the children who will be led by a negative and hate-filled example. Sad for us as a country to be so needlessly divided. Keep up the good dialogue to keep us thinking and talking to make a difference!
I am an ex-pat living in Cincy. Right after the election someone I know said this country was going to the “socialists” so I’m going to have to move to Canada. I had to chuckle a little because a) I’m Canadian and we know how to laugh at ourselves and b) it’s pretty darn-socialist up beyond that 49 parallel (and yet Canada is still thriving). A fact that they didn’t know or understand.
Not to say there isn’t the UGLY up in the Great White North. It saddens me, and sometimes I want to stick my head in the sand and make it all go away. What I try to do is like your saying teach my son tolerance, really listening to the person and trying to respect their opinions even if it differs from yours.
Judy I totally agree lets keep talking and listening!
PS. My son is reading HP watch out!
Mr. B, Smooth! I need to master that technique.
Jane, Thank you. (And I loved your post today about the Ohio school district. Wouldn’t it be nice if someone in charge read it.)
Mairi, I know. The urge to hide from it all is huge. I do, sometimes. Just to keep my sanity. I tell myself all the time that Tina’s right. The crazies are a vocal minority.
We read all the Harry Potter books as a family. We read the last one on a Shasta camping trip. Fond memories!
I agree with you. Totally.
With that said, the democrats have the White House, the Senate, and the House. They shouldn’t need the Republicans. Do you think Bush wouldn’t have gotten his programs through a similar Republican setup? Enough fretting…make it happen!
Mark, I agree right back at you. I read this today in The New Republic: “The Democratic Party isn’t necessarily the bravest.”
Subject of another post, no doubt. In the meantime, trying to keep the faith.
“I’m shocked, shocked to learn there is dishonest political rhetoric going on here…”
In an attempt to answer the last question of your post I will say that drama sells. Editorial views are called “the news”. Adversarial TV is the norm. Crazy gets attention. And the fact that all this is allowed to continue and thrive is whats “ugly”.
I get that we are an info society. And that there is not a large filter on what is thrown out for immediate viewing consumption. But the idea that an uninformed, uneducated, unintelligent, unsupervised, unwhatever collection of six or so people sitting in front of Joe Billy Bob’s Donut & Auto Shop with a disposable video phone and a youtube app is able to be credited as a conservative news source is equally appalling.
There has always been “sides” taken on whatever subject. Even in something as ridiculous as saying the president should not speak to the kids in class on the first day of school. (I wish he was going to their parents doors and telling them about responsibility and higher standards!oh well!). We just didnt give as much credence to all this rancor when there were only three channels on the TV and news had to be news!
While I am still typing I will add my editorial that hoping for, wishing it to be, hiding from or sticking heads in the sand is not the way to bring about change in any measure. Voting for change is terrific. Just don’t stop there! OK, editorial over!
Tongue in Cheek cartoon that shows you were right to be concerned about Obama, the President of the United States, talking to school children:
http://cagle.com/politicalcartoons/PCcartoons/cagle.asp
kid
Bobby, You’re right, and I think one thing feeds the other. If you know you can get your 15 minutes acting like a crazy person, it might make you more likely to act crazy. And by you, I mean those people sitting in front of Joe Billy Bob’s Donut & Auto Shop, of course. ;-)
Kid, Good one! We could use a bit more humor in all this.
You know, the worst part is that it’s not even “15 minutes” anymore. If Andy were around today he would aim that comment a lot lower. Plus, who has time to sit through a 15 minute YouTube video — 3 minutes, tops!
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