[extropy-chat] Lorrey - Who thinks the Bush admin lied over Iraq? Onwhatbasis?

[The Avantguardian]

--- Brent Neal <brentn at freeshell.org> wrote:

> Let me turn the question back on you. Why do you
> want to identify with a political party? 
> 
> In my time, I've been registered Libertarian,
> Republican, and Democrat.  But I vote for whoever I
> feel most comfortable with, no matter what their
> party is.  From what you said, it sounds like you
> probably do too. So why do you care?

Because these days, it seems that voting for one party
or another is not quite enough. What makes the
Republicans so strong right now is that they do far
more than vote. If they are reporters they write every
story with a strong republican slant. If they are
judges, they rule down party lines. If they are
businessmen, they pour tons of their hard earned money
into campaign funds. If they are net-geeks, they set
up Republican blogs that try to discredit everything
the other party says. If they are rabble rousers, they
launch pro-war protests to counter the anti-war
protests of the left. Politics in the U.S. seems to
have changed drastically from what it was even a
decade ago, when most Americans were politically
active for one day in November. I almost feel that if
I can't somehow work my political views into every
facet of my life, I am in danger of losing what little
say I have in government. But in order for me to be
that passionate, that biased, I need a cause I can
believe in. And so far no party fits the bill for me. 
     How long before teachers start grading their
students based on their party affiliation? "Sorry
Johnny but your dad is a communist, so you get a D."
How long before scientific grant funding commitees and
peer review occur down party lines? It would kill
American science, but it wouldn't surprise me if it
started happening. Why are the stakes so much higher
today than they were a mere decade ago? Why are so
many people just discarding any semblence of
objectivity and sportsmanship to the side? What
happened? Was it 9-11? Was it practically vote by vote
coverage on election night? When did the people of
America stop trusting one another enough to even
listen to what someone who thinks differently has to
say? Is it all part of Bin Ladin's master plan? When
is it going to escalate into violence? It did in the
last days of the roman empire. Gangs roaming the
street strong arming the voters into voting for one
consul or tribune or another. I can almost see that
happening here in the America. I mean look at this
list for example. No compromise, no meeting of minds,
just all out verbal brawls. Everything I say is the
truth... Everything you say is brainwashed propaganda
because YOU SIR or MADAM are a party
schill/stalinist/facist/moron. Everybody is
complaining about the same problems and yet everybody
is convinced it is the other party's fault. Who do I
blame, when I don't know who the OTHER party is? 

The Avantguardian 
is 
Stuart LaForge
alt email: stuart"AT"ucla.edu

"The surest sign of intelligent life in the universe is that they haven't attempted to contact us." 
-Bill Watterson

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