Interesting. Sitting at the top of the rec list is a diary complaining about the lack of civility at DKos. The diarist then proceeds to launch a rather uncivil attack. His criticism is not balanced and is directed toward inflammatory statements by President Obama's critics while ignoring equally over the top rhetoric by his ardent supporters. In fact the diarist uses some of the same inflammatory language as do these folks, suggesting that many critics are trolls and doing the Republicans’ work, comparing them to the denizens of RedState, ranting about purity and ponies. The diarist ends with, "Get your shit together people."
This is a blog. Anonymous people with a varying degree of political cohesion and awareness post their opinions. Some are informed. Some are not. Some are polite. Some less so. Get over it.
This afternoon I was compared to totalitarian genocidal killers. I guess my crime was that I am an unrepentant left-winger, I do not think that the health care bill is satisfactory, and I believe Rahm Emanuel should be fired. The comment stated:
What you have in common with the far Right is you are willing to kill others to achieve your goals and install a totalitarian state to enforce your ideology. That is what the far Right and the far Left did all through the 20th century. Genocide and mass murder from both the Left and the Right totals in the hundreds of millions. (Emphasis mine)
I didn’t troll rate the comment and actually found it rather humorous. I will manage to somehow cope despite someone going apoplectic because I dared to criticize Rahm. Some guy/gal got angry on a blog. Oh well. It hardly matters in either the short or long run. I’m not about to obsess about an anonymous insult on a blog.
People will continue to become angry. The issues are important. The Democrats are in charge and most of us want them to succeed. How we define success is debatable. Many put long hours into campaigns. Many are impacted by the actions of the administration. As an educator, my life will be impacted by Arne Duncan’s proposals. If IMO his policy decisions continue the wrongheaded policies of the Bush administration, which I believe they do, I will say so. Others can disagree, vehemently if they so desire. I will attempt to persuade others regarding my ideas and I am open to what others have to say. (Though it is not likely anyone will convince me that Duncan’s approach is correct. But I will read the opposing viewpoints.)
I will use this forum to test my ideas. I will continue to find useful information. I will read opposing views on issues where my knowledge is weak and use those debates to help formulate my own conclusions.
In the end, however, the impact of a blog on my life is relatively small. My validation as a person is not dependent on what people here think one way or another. Neither should my opinions impact your self-concept. I’m just some guy with a few opinions, some valid, some probably less so.
And if I no longer find this site interesting or welcoming, I will move on. After all, I actually have a life.