"This is war."
So wrote Armando in responding to my diary on the differences between the Religious Right and the Taliban/al Qaeda. He continued:
"We've thought about it alot more than you and don't agree with you at all. The time for this discussion is over."
Is this what we've come to? We've decided to become the mirror image of the very worst imagining of our opponents? "We've thought about it a lot more than you"!?!?! You don't know me! You have no idea who I am--and just because we disagree does not mean that you have thought about it more! Isn't this attempt to whip the troops into lockstep exactly what we say we hate about the Republican party? Paul Krugman today in the Times talked about how Republicans no longer care about the actual truth, only "political truth". Are we trying to follow their lead?
Despite the large number of thoughtful posts agreeing and disagreeing with my diaries, they have been overshadowed by a number of users who have decided that my input is "obfuscatory, ignorant, glaring nonsense that arises from laziness or malice". Perhaps it is.
Judge for yourself.
I am a progressive and a liberal--but I believe that conservatism in theory and as understood by many Americans can help correct the excesses of liberalism; I also believe that the reverse is true. I do not think any political party or ideology has a monopoly on truth. Every worldview, movement, and person has its blindspots. I think it is a sign of cowardice and a sign of a fear of the truth that leads us to demonize our opponents and dismiss all their ideas as hopelessly misguided. One dKos user responded to my charge that he was demonizing his opponents with this:
"I am not demonizing political opposition. I am pointing out racist, sexist, bigoted, religious freaks with political and social agendas that are completely at odds with anything any 'normal' American sees as realistic or desirable, and whose opinions are radically and directly opposed to the recorded writings of this nation's founders."
I think it is important to try to understand how our opponents can come to their conclusions reasonably and in good conscience. Some of our opponents are lying, deceitful, and immoral--but that doesn't mean that anyone who agrees with them is as well. Though they might be wrong, most people have convinced themselves they are right. And we must remember that includes us--we might actually be in the wrong because our opponents have seen something we have missed.
I have known a number of extremely conservative Catholics--they firmly believe and have told me that I am going to hell for being a "cafeteria Catholic". They are probably about two steps from being as conservative as Falwell. Yet, I have no reason to doubt their word that they believe in democracy and the intrinsic rights of all individuals and other basic American ideals. I have learned a lot from talking with them, even as I realize more and more how wrong I think they are.
One person responded to my second diary with this: "The strawman nature of these arguments, combined with their disdain for rationality, strongly suggest to me that the diarist is a Republican, an idiot, or both. I see no reason to give this diary any further thought."
Another user, after musing that I must be either a "lazy naïve fool...or a shit-stirring provocateur trolling for hot-button replies for some purpose or other", told me that in defending the Religious Right (saying they were nowhere near the American Taliban though they were wrong on many issues), I was defending murderers who "if they had the power or the chance to get away with it, would kill me" (meaning him).
I don't think this is representative of the Daily Kos. But if when we see some these types of things written, we don't speak up, we become part of the problem.
Armando continued from the comments beginning this diary saying:
"Unfortunately, reasonable and honest political discourse is over in this country right now."
Is it really? It's your choice, Armando--and the choice of the rest of the dKos community. Are we ready to become our own worst enemy? Or is discussion exactly what we need?
We need to defeat the Republican's and Religious Right's agenda. We need to find a way to counter their warping of the political climate. But we can't give up our ideals to do so--if we do, we become part of the problem rather than part of the solution.
Let me be clear--most of these quotes aren't by Armando--they are by numerous other dKos users. If it was just a few people who I felt were being unreasonable, I wouldn't care much. It's the sheer number. I led with Armando because he speaks for a lot of people on dKos. And my problem is not just that people say these things, but that they seem to believe them. This is not about me being personally offended. And I'm not trying to cut the Religious Right or Republicans some slack. I'm saying we should attack them as strongly as possible without distorting what they stand for and what they believe.
