Every time I open the paper and read yet another irritating story of the Neocons vs. Hippy Liberals that seems to be overwhelming our country right now I cannot help but think: "Where the hell did the moderate voices all go?"
I am hoping to get a good debate on this topic going here, because I just cannot understand what has happened to our country in the past 4-6 years. I never recall seeing this level of polarization of views, of such disparity between the 'fundamentalist christians' and the Ted Kennedy bunch who cry foul at every opportunity.
This is supposed to be the land of the FREE. Thus, while I might not agree with your opinions, I fully respect your right to have them and express them in a manner that does not compromise the safety and liberty of other people. For example: You want to carry guns? Fine. Be responsible. I hunt and fish, and nobody is threatened by me. If you want to eat nothing but vegetables and think killing animals is wrong, you dont have to do that. Just dont lobby against me and try to make me a criminal. You want to ban Uzi's? Show me some convincing data that says the vast majority of Uzi-toting people are murderers and I will support that. Its common sense, above gun-preservation-at-any-cost.
If you are female and lesbian, do your thing. Dont go and lobby the college I attended for special funding for your homosexual clubs, because I personally do not want my money being used that way. If you want to celebrate your sexuality on your own dime, so be it.
How about drugs? Say you like to smoke a little marijuana from time to time. Are you hurting anyone? Nope. Just dont go hanging around my house and selling it to kids.
Here's a good one: Stem cell research. Here you have hundreds of thousands of embryos, leftover trash from in-vitro-fertilization. You have a situation in which the mother and father decided to create many 'potential' lives
KNOWING that most of them would NEVER be used. However, the religious right says we cannot possibly use them for research. They would prefer (by inference) that such 'human life' would be tossed down the sewer instead. Here is a proposal: For every embryo that your wife does not carry in her fertile god-blessed womb, you are in fact half responsible for a 'death' you could have prevented.
Yeah, I know America aint perfect. I just feel that it is growing steadily worse, and if our founding fathers could see what we have collectively become they would have to raise themselves from the dead and start over. For the record, I really cant affiliate myself with any political party, so its not that I condemn the system itself. Where is the moderate platform that is fiscally conservative, morally neutral, not controlled by business interests and has America's best interests in mind?
There, I have stirred the pot with my sensical moderate musings. /ducks
i think ben's right. i'm a moderate, and i find myself agreeing with aspects of what almost everybody says. hard to be controversial when you're a moderate.
i do find an interesting phenomenon recently, however. extremists on both sides don't wanna hear from moderates.we're continually painted as liberal by the right, and conservative by the left.
i think ben's right. i'm a moderate, and i find myself agreeing with aspects of what almost everybody says. hard to be controversial when you're a moderate.
i do find an interesting phenomenon recently, however. extremists on both sides don't wanna hear from moderates.we're continually painted as liberal by the right, and conservative by the left.
Exactly. Liberal and conservative are relative terms, and it is relative to who you are being compared to.
__________________
You may beat the rap, but you won't beat the ride!
I disagree with your premise. People have always thought that the country was going to hell in a hand basket. I think that there is an illusion that the country is more polarized simply because after 50 years of domination by the "mainstream media," we have seen the emergence of news and commentary from the other side. Fox News, talk radio etc. Those media are simply exposing beliefs that have always been there.
What is a "moderate" versus an "independent?" I view them completely differently. I think a majority of "moderates" are that way out of convenience. It's easy to take the middle of the road and never be at odds with the majority. But "independents" I think independently of party affiliation and often take unpopular positions.
Disappearing Moderates
