A call to the liberal left.

So, I had the most interesting discussion tonight. Maybe I’m being a little facetious but not so much.

Tonight, I called someone who had given me her number through the website. I think we talked for about three minutes and in those three minutes she was able to determine I was not for her.

It’s more than a little off-putting.

Actually I find it offensive but more on that in a moment.

They say that politics makes for strange bedfellows, nowhere is this concept illustrated better than in the union of James Carville and Mary Matalin.

If opposites attract then certainly Carville and Matalin have proven that old saw as well because there is obviously a great chasm in their political views. Somehow though they manage to make things work.

So, getting back to matters at hand. Tonight I called a woman who had given me her number. Within the first few minute or two of the conversation she said the deal breaker would be if I was a Republican (which I am registered) and pretty much that was it.

I got off the phone and was done.

See, I think that the biggest problem in our country today is the very strong partisan lines that seem to be drawn in the sand by both political parties. These lines are polarizing in that they try to cast every issue in our country into a simple black or white.

That’s a problem and a big one.

By failing to recognize that there are subtleties to everything we encounter during our voyage on the planet, we remove the ability to compromise. There are no absolutes in our political landscape; there are no true ‘good guys’ or ‘bad guys.’

Somehow though, I think I may be an exception.

See, I don’t believe in voting entirely along party lines and I can’t say that I ever have. It simply doesn’t make a lot of sense to me.

Consequently, there have been several occasions where I have voted for a candidate that was on the Democratic line. As a matter of fact in the upcoming election I am swayed to cross party lines - strongly (and if you don’t believe it, I do have another blog where I’ve written at great length about that very topic).

I can’t say I’ve ever voted for Junior either (although you would be surprised at the number of people who assume that is the case because of my party affiliation). I just didn’t like the guy and after 8 years I’m glad I didn’t vote for him. The Mother Jones article I read way back in ’99 pretty much nailed it spot on.

So, when I’m talking to someone who supposedly embraces the tenets of the Democratic Party and the liberalism that is purported to be part and parcel of the parties’ worldview, I find it amazingly ironic someone would be so entirely dismissive of me.

Of course the thing is, I’ve also gotten to a point in life where I can’t find it within myself to argue with stupid people. If you are that intellectually stunted where your world can be broken down into two camps, chances are no matter how much I try I’m not going to convince you that life isn’t a zero sum game.

And that goes for the Republicans out there as well as the Democrats. When we talk about what is broken in this country, I think we need to begin with the dysfunctional political rhetoric that we engage in. If we truly want our country to be a better place we had better start trying to listen to the arguments that each side would offer up and then work towards an acceptable solution to both parties.

But then, maybe I’m too much of an optimist and living in a fantasy world. (1337 Views pre transfer)