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So I suppose I should post this as it have been the subject of much argument.
What has happened to civility in our discourses? At what point did it become okay for people to be called un-American for questioning our government? When did it become okay to call those who want to peruse safety with out restraint fascists? Is it okay to say someone is like Hitler to make some sort of political point? I will not understand, nor will I ever understand why some people feel it is okay to be uncivil if people don’t agree with you. I am a strong critic of the current trends in our administration. I may even go so far as to say they are dumb things to do. I will however try and make my points in logic and passionate argument. I will endeavor to avoid directly insulting people who believe in those policies. You know what, that does not make me any less strident in my beliefs. It merely means I have the capability to make the argument civil. These are not baby killing monsters. These are men and women who believe in their cause and that these measures they are pursuing are needed. I disagree with them. I will express that with letters and debate. I will express it with my votes.
I have a number of friends who are conservative. I don’t believe them deluded or foolish. I believe them perhaps to be wrong on points because of certain points I will gladly talk with them about. I trust most of them will treat me with the same respect.
The whole demonizing of people on the opposite end of the political spectrum thing is just a waste. It convinces no one except the people who already agree with you. In the opposite people who may have been willing to listen to you tune you out because you have started to use the language to indicate you’re on the extreme. It is no better for a liberal to use the language of anger and fear than it is for a conservative. You only prove yourself the same and indisguishable from the people you oppose.
And why is it people want to do this in the end. Are people so frustrated that no one sees the way they do? That seems a likely explanation for why Bush and his fellows do it though I don’t know. Is it a stroke to the ego that you can prove yourself strong in your opinions, so strong you don’t care who you offend? Well I am sure that is a motivator for at least some.
I myself prefer to look to our better angels and say that while I strongly disagree with someone I will not be reduced to schoolyard name-calling. I believe in the notion that discussion and action are better gauges of our national character than name-calling and mudslinging.
What has happened to civility in our discourses? At what point did it become okay for people to be called un-American for questioning our government? When did it become okay to call those who want to peruse safety with out restraint fascists? Is it okay to say someone is like Hitler to make some sort of political point? I will not understand, nor will I ever understand why some people feel it is okay to be uncivil if people don’t agree with you. I am a strong critic of the current trends in our administration. I may even go so far as to say they are dumb things to do. I will however try and make my points in logic and passionate argument. I will endeavor to avoid directly insulting people who believe in those policies. You know what, that does not make me any less strident in my beliefs. It merely means I have the capability to make the argument civil. These are not baby killing monsters. These are men and women who believe in their cause and that these measures they are pursuing are needed. I disagree with them. I will express that with letters and debate. I will express it with my votes.
I have a number of friends who are conservative. I don’t believe them deluded or foolish. I believe them perhaps to be wrong on points because of certain points I will gladly talk with them about. I trust most of them will treat me with the same respect.
The whole demonizing of people on the opposite end of the political spectrum thing is just a waste. It convinces no one except the people who already agree with you. In the opposite people who may have been willing to listen to you tune you out because you have started to use the language to indicate you’re on the extreme. It is no better for a liberal to use the language of anger and fear than it is for a conservative. You only prove yourself the same and indisguishable from the people you oppose.
And why is it people want to do this in the end. Are people so frustrated that no one sees the way they do? That seems a likely explanation for why Bush and his fellows do it though I don’t know. Is it a stroke to the ego that you can prove yourself strong in your opinions, so strong you don’t care who you offend? Well I am sure that is a motivator for at least some.
I myself prefer to look to our better angels and say that while I strongly disagree with someone I will not be reduced to schoolyard name-calling. I believe in the notion that discussion and action are better gauges of our national character than name-calling and mudslinging.
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From: (Anonymous)
Re: and on and on....
The Third Reich did share some ideas with this administration: paranoia, excessive power in the hands of the excutive branch, and an idea that patrotism should be imperialistic for starters. The Reich did not start out with gas ovens. German leaders slowly retracted right after right, and considered it the government's prerogative to spy on "enemies of the state" without due process. The point is not that Bush is just like Hitler, but that fascist regimes often begin by limiting rights in the name of patriotism and security, which is what the current administration is doing right now. This is not to say that our government is likely to establish an oppressive fascist regime tomorrow, but such comparisons can serve to warn us against the possible, worst-case-scenario consequences of such legislation.
I don't see what Miller's lack of burning scenes implies, but I could have just missed something there. I don't actually think Bush and Hitler have much in common. However, we should keep history firmly in mind and remain aware of the small encroachments that can lead to terrible outrages in the future - because, you know, things like that have gone there before.
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Re: and on and on....