Enough, already.
Today I called my representative about the health care reform bill. It's not perfect. In some ways, it's not even good. But once it is passed, health insurance companies won't be able to take your money for years and then dump you as soon as you actually get sick, or pretend that the acne you had when you were 14 is a "pre-existing condition" that makes you uninsurable when you get cervical cancer 40 years later. I don't see how passing this can be, on balance, a bad thing.
Then I went to said representative's Facebook page, and was appalled. For the last few days, the majority of posts were certainly in support of a yes vote (which would be a change, since this Congress-critter voted "no" in the last round). But those who didn't support it were impassioned, angry, terrified, and horribly misinformed.
I've argued politics regularly with some of the same people for about a decade. The recent rhetoric is the least grounded in fact and the most fear-based I can remember since I joined the group during the Gore-Bush election cycle in 2000. People who are anti-abortion, supported the Patriot Act, and oppose gay marriage go on and on about "limited government." They are terrified of a Democrat in the White House. They are terrified of a Democratic majority in Congress. They are certain that their way of life is under constant attack by some nefarious, shadowy agenda they can't articulate, prove, or identify, but are absolutely certain exists.
They are terrified because of idjits like Glenn Beck. They are terrified because they don't have time to read for themselves, inform themselves about plans or proposals, or learn about congressional processes -- so they listen to an hour of Glenn Beck wasting their time and come away not informed, but misinformed and afraid.
Why is fear the only weapon working for the right wing? And why are they so afraid of the elegant, thoughtful man who is now our President that they will obstruct ANYTHING to hand him a defeat?
Then I went to said representative's Facebook page, and was appalled. For the last few days, the majority of posts were certainly in support of a yes vote (which would be a change, since this Congress-critter voted "no" in the last round). But those who didn't support it were impassioned, angry, terrified, and horribly misinformed.
I've argued politics regularly with some of the same people for about a decade. The recent rhetoric is the least grounded in fact and the most fear-based I can remember since I joined the group during the Gore-Bush election cycle in 2000. People who are anti-abortion, supported the Patriot Act, and oppose gay marriage go on and on about "limited government." They are terrified of a Democrat in the White House. They are terrified of a Democratic majority in Congress. They are certain that their way of life is under constant attack by some nefarious, shadowy agenda they can't articulate, prove, or identify, but are absolutely certain exists.
They are terrified because of idjits like Glenn Beck. They are terrified because they don't have time to read for themselves, inform themselves about plans or proposals, or learn about congressional processes -- so they listen to an hour of Glenn Beck wasting their time and come away not informed, but misinformed and afraid.
Why is fear the only weapon working for the right wing? And why are they so afraid of the elegant, thoughtful man who is now our President that they will obstruct ANYTHING to hand him a defeat?
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