Civil Discourse and the Gene Pool
ChefJef’s post from yesterday is a work of art.
I think it goes a long way toward explaining the frustration thoughtful liberals feel with the Democratic Party and with current philosophical and cultural trends within the Left. I agree with him on a number of points: a) that most Americans are not as far apart politically as the MSM (Right and Left) would have us believe (for reasons of their own); b) that the degree to which they are apart is more a function of which issues are on the table than on fundamental differences over first causes; c) that there is common cause among many groups, such as honest liberals and evangelical Christians (others agree); d) that there are idiotarians and moonbats among the Right as well as the Left; and e) that those who wish to drag the Left off into the fever swamps and gnaw on it awhile are not representative and are frustrating the good work liberals can do in our society.
Still, they’re fighting an uphill battle. My rhetoric to the contrary, I wish it were not so. I enjoy the free exchange of ideas and wish to encourage civil debate on the issues facing our country—that’s one reason I created this site. The left seems intent on political and philosophical self-destruction—the point I was making in the post to which ChefJef was responding. I find much of the Left’s rhetoric entertaining, but in the larger context, it’s just sad. Limiting the free exchange and interplay—the zweikampf—of ideas is like shrinking your gene pool. And us’uns down here in the South know why that ain’t such a good idea.
I think ChefJef’s message is the kind that liberals aren’t hearing on their own side of the informal Fourth Estate (certainly not from the most popular Lefty sites like Daily Kos). It’s the kind of message they need to hear—that we all need to hear if we are to pull civil discourse away from the partisan bickering and deliberate incitement of recent years.
Do you agree? Disagree? Let’s hear from some other correspondents….
Monk
I think it goes a long way toward explaining the frustration thoughtful liberals feel with the Democratic Party and with current philosophical and cultural trends within the Left. I agree with him on a number of points: a) that most Americans are not as far apart politically as the MSM (Right and Left) would have us believe (for reasons of their own); b) that the degree to which they are apart is more a function of which issues are on the table than on fundamental differences over first causes; c) that there is common cause among many groups, such as honest liberals and evangelical Christians (others agree); d) that there are idiotarians and moonbats among the Right as well as the Left; and e) that those who wish to drag the Left off into the fever swamps and gnaw on it awhile are not representative and are frustrating the good work liberals can do in our society.
Still, they’re fighting an uphill battle. My rhetoric to the contrary, I wish it were not so. I enjoy the free exchange of ideas and wish to encourage civil debate on the issues facing our country—that’s one reason I created this site. The left seems intent on political and philosophical self-destruction—the point I was making in the post to which ChefJef was responding. I find much of the Left’s rhetoric entertaining, but in the larger context, it’s just sad. Limiting the free exchange and interplay—the zweikampf—of ideas is like shrinking your gene pool. And us’uns down here in the South know why that ain’t such a good idea.
I think ChefJef’s message is the kind that liberals aren’t hearing on their own side of the informal Fourth Estate (certainly not from the most popular Lefty sites like Daily Kos). It’s the kind of message they need to hear—that we all need to hear if we are to pull civil discourse away from the partisan bickering and deliberate incitement of recent years.
Do you agree? Disagree? Let’s hear from some other correspondents….
Monk
posted by Monk | 14:14
