Tuesday, August 21, 2012

The Political Low Road...

-- I dread the months that lie ahead of political campaigning, because so little meaningful dialogue actually comes of it. There are so many who seem to think that something is true if they say it often enough and loudly enough.  The mentality seems to be that a viewpoint is valid if the opposition can be shouted down or outlasted.  Intelligent and civil discussions of political viewpoints are seldom held anymore in favor of personal attacks on the person holding the dissenting viewpoint.  Labels bandied about become substitutes for thought; attach enough negative labels to the opposition, and the belief seems to be that you have discredited them.  A significant segment of the population seems to become politically galvanized by the simple attachment of labels.

American politics has become an exceedingly nasty business in the last few decades with the political ascendancy of the far right; one almost feels unsafe making their political beliefs known.  For such reasons I have come to dread elections, and shall be exceedingly glad when the current presidential campaign is over.  Try watching television without getting a bath in political acrimony during commercial intervals; it can be a stomach-churning experience.

Do I have political beliefs?--Absolutely!  I just go to some lengths to hide them at times, because I don't need the hassle and stress that seems to go along with expressing them in public...