My letter to the editor for today.
Oct. 10th, 2008 06:21 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
fabrisseI wrote this immediately after reading the article. I had not, at that point, read the letters associated with the article. I still haven't read them all. I don't think anyone could. Reading the ones I did was like drinking poison.
The article is at The Washington Post.
And this was my response:
I think anger is a problem on both sides of the argument.
Three years ago, someone at a party started raging against George Bush's presidency and asking how we could keep the stupid people in the middle of the country from voting.
I am of the left. I have never registered with either political party. Depending on the office and the candidate, I have voted for Libertarians, Greens, Democrats, Republicans, and Other.
This divisiveness disturbs me. Rather than being about evaluating the best candidate for the job, presidential elections seem to have devolved into team sports where if you like the Redskins, you have to spit before you mention the Cowboys.
Both sides need to understand the fears of the other side. We on the left need to reassure those on the right that we are not trying to destroy the society they love.
The right has to understand our mistrust of law enforcement without checks.
The anger needs to be diffused by both sides.
***
One letter writer said that the main problem with the Republican party was rednecks and if they "learned to read and some basic hygiene" they might become liberals too.
My family were rednecks until Grandpa went to college. Hell, we may still be rednecks. When I laugh at Jeff Foxworthy, I'm laughing in recognition, not derision.
What happened to the idea of rising above the fray? Can't we, as liberals (I may not be a Democrat, but I am certainly a Liberal), be better than we perceive them to be?
People have defriended me because I don't think Mr. Obama was the best candidate for the Democratic ticket. He's done better than McCain in both debates, but he's not a fluid speaker when responding to questions. And there are legitimate concerns about his lack of experience, though with Mrs. Palin joining the Republican ticket, those fly out the window. Had Mr. Obama chosen to serve a full term in the Senate before running for President, I would probably have worked on his campaign.
Still, I'd rather vote for the person who answers in complete sentences, the person more likely to answer the question that was asked, and the person who shows evidence of having thought about the topic. Barring some major revelation (that can stand up to even cursory factcheck.org or snopes googling), I will be pulling the lever for Mr. Obama.
I keep hearing from Mr. Obama's supporters about how inspirational he is. Please let him step away from this mudslide and be that inspiration.
I weep for my country.
The article is at The Washington Post.
And this was my response:
I think anger is a problem on both sides of the argument.
Three years ago, someone at a party started raging against George Bush's presidency and asking how we could keep the stupid people in the middle of the country from voting.
I am of the left. I have never registered with either political party. Depending on the office and the candidate, I have voted for Libertarians, Greens, Democrats, Republicans, and Other.
This divisiveness disturbs me. Rather than being about evaluating the best candidate for the job, presidential elections seem to have devolved into team sports where if you like the Redskins, you have to spit before you mention the Cowboys.
Both sides need to understand the fears of the other side. We on the left need to reassure those on the right that we are not trying to destroy the society they love.
The right has to understand our mistrust of law enforcement without checks.
The anger needs to be diffused by both sides.
***
One letter writer said that the main problem with the Republican party was rednecks and if they "learned to read and some basic hygiene" they might become liberals too.
My family were rednecks until Grandpa went to college. Hell, we may still be rednecks. When I laugh at Jeff Foxworthy, I'm laughing in recognition, not derision.
What happened to the idea of rising above the fray? Can't we, as liberals (I may not be a Democrat, but I am certainly a Liberal), be better than we perceive them to be?
People have defriended me because I don't think Mr. Obama was the best candidate for the Democratic ticket. He's done better than McCain in both debates, but he's not a fluid speaker when responding to questions. And there are legitimate concerns about his lack of experience, though with Mrs. Palin joining the Republican ticket, those fly out the window. Had Mr. Obama chosen to serve a full term in the Senate before running for President, I would probably have worked on his campaign.
Still, I'd rather vote for the person who answers in complete sentences, the person more likely to answer the question that was asked, and the person who shows evidence of having thought about the topic. Barring some major revelation (that can stand up to even cursory factcheck.org or snopes googling), I will be pulling the lever for Mr. Obama.
I keep hearing from Mr. Obama's supporters about how inspirational he is. Please let him step away from this mudslide and be that inspiration.
I weep for my country.
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no subject
Date: 2008-10-11 01:24 am (UTC)For me, what this campaign comes down to is race hatred and bigotry. McCain, until today in a case of 'too little too late', has been whipping up his supporters into a lynch mob mentality. This is offensively, and in my mind, criminally, unacceptable. The country needs a leader who will not stoop to such behavior. That McCain isn't that far behind Obama in the polls, even after all this lynch mob inciting, worries me and pisses me off.
The redneck comment from a responder was something I dismissed as easily as I dismissed that idiot racist woman calling Obama an "Arab." When I say "dismiss" I mean that in an intelligence meter perspective. Every single member of my family and extended family (sisters, uncles, aunts, cousins -- parents/grandparents are dead) are racists, which is why I don't associate with them. I weep that they're divisionists, that they refuse or are incapable of seeing that we are all human, all equal (naturally-speaking). I see them reflected in the people who follow/support the McCain campaign.
For me, experience is not the sole issue. What matters is functionally sound judgment, intelligence, grace under fire, and ethical values. Obama has all that. McCain has demonstrated he is only now deciding (at the behest of others, not himself) that he should put a stop to the hatred he has been inciting. This isn't just a case of 'too little too late', but a demonstration that his judgment is not sound. We've already had that in the WH (and on Wall St) and look where that has gotten us. We don't need more of it.
no subject
Date: 2008-10-12 07:59 pm (UTC)But Obama voted for FISA powers to be extended for the executive branch after swearing he wouldn't and criticizing the policies. My flesh went cold when I read he'd voted for it. Some have said he had to in order not to appear weak, and I do appreciate that Hillary having already been defeated for the nomination had the luxury of voting her conscience, but *wink,nudge -- he doesn't really mean it* assurances from the campaign don't make me like the vote any better. In fact, it's worse if he was deliberately duplicitous.
ITA that we don't need more of the last four years.
no subject
Date: 2008-10-12 11:24 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-10-11 05:23 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-10-12 07:51 pm (UTC)One hurt alot. Apparently, I've been too critical of Obama for her taste.