Marc2b
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Joined: 8/7/2006
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Here is part of a really good essay on this:
Geography aside, however, we have never been so evenly divided with such hateful rhetoric since the years leading up to the Civil War of the 1860s. Because the national media elite are so uniformly progressive, we keep hearing (in the elite media) about the rhetorical excesses of the "extreme right." To hear the same media, there is no "extreme left," just the occasional progressive who says things he or she shouldn't.
quote:
But any rational observer has to see that the Left and Right in America are screaming the most vile accusations at each other all the time. We are fully polarized -- if you accept one idea that sounds like it belongs to either the blue or the red, you are assumed -- nay, required -- to espouse the entire rest of the package, even though there is no reason why supporting the war against terrorism should imply you're in favor of banning all abortions and against restricting the availability of firearms; no reason why being in favor of keeping government-imposed limits on the free market should imply you also are in favor of giving legal status to homosexual couples and against building nuclear reactors. These issues are not remotely related, and yet if you hold any of one group's views, you are hated by the other group as if you believed them all; and if you hold most of one group's views, but not all, you are treated as if you were a traitor for deviating even slightly from the party line.
It goes deeper than this, however. A good working definition of fanaticism is that you are so convinced of your views and policies that you are sure anyone who opposes them must either be stupid and deceived or have some ulterior motive. We are today a nation where almost everyone in the public eye displays fanaticism with every utterance.
Here is the link: http://www.hatrack.com/osc/articles/empire_afterword.shtml
[EMPHASIS MINE]
Excellent post. Excellent essay. Based upon my experiences on these boards I am forced to conclude that I am a bleeding heart, uncaring, flag waving, America hating, secular, Christain fundamentalist, racist, race traitor, communist, nazi asshole.
I must be doing something right. 
In fact, there is a tendency for people who come down on similar sides of different issues. The best book I ever read about this is "A conflict of Visions," by one of my favorite authors, Thomas Sowell. I heartily recomend it.
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Do you know what the most awesome thing about being an Atheist is? You're not required to hate anybody!
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