If you don't dislike or hate any posters here on DU or Conservatives, skip this message. I can't imagine it will be of any use to you,
whatsoever. For the rest:
For the Clinton and Obama folks, who believe the others are sexist or racist, the homosexuals and heterosexuals, atheists, agnostics and those who hold their religion dear, the pro-gun and anti-gun folks, the supporters of Israeli rights and the supporters of Palestinian rights, conspiracy-minded September 11th folks and those who believe the official history of that day. And probably a dozen or two more groups for which there seems to be an unbridgeable schism.
And that even includes the polite people and the perpetually-snarky, sarcastic, or enthusiastically-blunt people who give them heartburn.
To all of us who have developed dislike or hatred for
anyone here, realize this TRUTH:
Those people you dislike and hate so deeply really are Democrats too. I've been on here for years now and I've read tens or maybe hundreds of thousands of messages. And boy, howdy, have I come to dislike some people. I've also come to the belief that some of them, genuinely, aren't Democrats at all, but Republicans. But it's not true, regardless of what every fiber of my body screams.
I'd say something like 98 times out of 100, when a poster genuinely believes another poster is a conservative troll, it's because they have no concept of how broad the Democratic party really is. In a two-party system this sort of diversity is unavoidable- at least in a country with 300+ million people. Conservative trolls are
usually pretty easy to spot. It's tough to fake it, no-matter which side is trying to impersonate the other.
Taken to the extremes, I still believe it to be true. There are racist and sexist Democrats. There are anti-Semitic Democrats and there are anti-Arab Democrats. There are teetotalling Democrats and Democrats who will be passing a joint to their children after school. To be a Democrat (just like being a Conservative) all you really have to do is
VOTE for the Democratic party. As a voter, no more elegant a test is required.
Most of what you believe about being a Democrat is your projection of what you think it should be, not necessarily what it really is. Even if your concept of the Democratic party revolves around the
Democratic Party's planks, realize that those beliefs are fluid and have changed quite a bit, even from convention to convention.
And also realize, and this if you've stayed with me so far this is where I'll probably lose you, that there is one even more disturbing truth:
There is a sea of people that you would relate deeply to who identify themselves as Conservatives and you wouldn't necessarily guess their political leanings unless they outright told you. And you could have more in common with those Conservatives than you do with many Democrats. There, I said it.
While you're reeling, another:
Most successful politicians realize this as truth and navigate through humanity with it, building relationships which are necessary to reach places like the House, Senate or Presidency. But it works to their advantage (on both sides of the aisles) to train you otherwise. And because of that cultural training, we are likely to self-segregate to one of these two political parties but
because of that training we will continue to self-select into smaller and smaller groups within your own political party, forming factions.
It is in our nature. If we were all featureless pink cubes, we would self-segregate based on the sharpness of our corners. But, if we can buoy ourselves above these prejudices that
we enforce, if only for a moment now and again, we can begin to understand the view of those who have achieved great things.
A greater understanding of all points of view is necessary otherwise we as a people, a society and ultimately a nation- are done for.Peace,
PB
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