There were always people who demonized the other side, and some who even did so sincerely, thought it was their justified stand against the Source of All Evil, but I do think it's a lot more pervasive now, and the added exposure just spreads it even more broadly. The Guy Fawkes' used to be a lot less numerous here, but as the moral element has grown on BOTH sides it's increasingly become harder to view policy differences as a repudiation of all that's sacred. That's part of why there's so much less willingness to compromise; you don't compromise with monolithic evil, because there aren't any concessions you're willing to make.
i'm watching people who are all supposed to be on the same side politically get caught up in the partisanship and sniping at each other. and yes, trying to convince the other people that anything counter to their view is Evil (yes, with a capital E). and this is just one faction of one part of the political landscape.
when you get a bunch of people together whose only function is to out-think the opposition, you will get the kind of reactions you're getting. the only reason it seems so bad now is exactly because of the "broad spread" of media coverage. we have 150,000,000 cable talking heads to get the word out, something that just wasn't feasible until the last 20 years. human nature hasn't changed in 200,000 years of evolution and the partisanship we see in politics is nothing more than human nature at its worst.
"The RIAA has shown a certain disregard for the creative people of the industry in their eagerness to protect the revenues of the record companies." -- Frank Zappa
"That's the trouble with political jokes in this country... they get elected!" -- Dave Lippman
"That's the trouble with political jokes in this country... they get elected!" -- Dave Lippman
Where Did "We" Go?
01/10/2009 09:30:12 PM
- 697 Views
How do you change this though?
01/10/2009 10:51:10 PM
- 330 Views
Pelosi is part of the problem
01/10/2009 11:10:45 PM
- 319 Views
that was hyperbole, as he's said OVER AND OVER
02/10/2009 06:21:16 PM
- 298 Views
really which elected leaders on the right talked about death panels?
02/10/2009 06:41:05 PM
- 319 Views
Dumb column from Friedman.....read a history book.....
01/10/2009 11:15:46 PM
- 339 Views
I disagree, obviously.
02/10/2009 12:11:48 AM
- 403 Views
No, it hasn't always been like this; I think Watergate changed it, and maybe Vietnam.
02/10/2009 02:13:07 AM
- 403 Views
remarkably, i agree with the troll
02/10/2009 06:27:40 AM
- 333 Views
Partisanship, yes, but this is more than that.
02/10/2009 06:57:14 AM
- 398 Views
i see things at a different level than you do
02/10/2009 07:31:24 AM
- 325 Views
Personally, I think you're seeing the cart rather than the horse, but that's just me.
02/10/2009 08:14:46 AM
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Not true
02/10/2009 12:32:58 AM
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why did we fight the Spanish American War and the War of 1812 again?
02/10/2009 04:18:56 AM
- 285 Views
You just completely undermined your point
02/10/2009 06:22:54 AM
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I think the role of cable news is over played
01/10/2009 11:29:26 PM
- 329 Views
Possibly.
02/10/2009 12:02:05 AM
- 338 Views
To many people distrust the media for it to be just the right who distrust them
02/10/2009 04:15:50 AM
- 382 Views
i agree that the fringe has way more power than it should, but...
02/10/2009 06:38:41 AM
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I think Friedman puts it very well when he says...
02/10/2009 11:24:02 AM
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did I read this correctly?
02/10/2009 03:00:33 PM
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As I already told you, this is not about "the left" complaining.
02/10/2009 03:38:15 PM
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it didn't become an issue until it started hurting the left
02/10/2009 04:44:29 PM
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Eh, many aspects of it have been criticized for a long time.
02/10/2009 09:12:22 PM
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also, about clinton, since you say you were too young to remember...
02/10/2009 06:47:45 AM
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really because my memory goes back further then that and things were nasty then to
02/10/2009 03:04:58 PM
- 291 Views