I am sorry. I’ve
really tried. But I just don’t
understand you.
You’re convinced Obama’s been doing a great job. ObamaCare makes perfect sense to you; you’re
happy to see that a country like ours is finally getting around to providing
healthcare for everyone. You believe the
rich should pay more in taxes, that companies have a moral responsibility to
provide jobs, and that we should stop persecuting people who are here
illegally.
You firmly believe Obama is one of our greatest Presidents,
ever; one who would have accomplished even more if Republicans hadn’t blocked
him at every turn. And the only reason
Republicans oppose him is because he’s black and wants the rich and
corporations to pay their fair share.
You view yourself and your circle of like-minded friends as
intelligent, progressive and compassionate to people of all walks of life,
regardless of ethnicity, income, education, sexual orientation, gender or
religious beliefs. You see Republicans, and
especially conservatives, as less informed, and much more intolerant than most
Americans. You are quick to dismiss
conservatives as anti-science and anti-woman Bible-thumping racist xenophobes who
only care about themselves and helping the rich stay that way.
You and your friends trust the New York Times and NPR – which you consider unbiased and
middle-of-the-road – to tell you what’s really going on. You think
Republicans and conservatives rely on hateful half-truths spewed by right-wing
fanatics on Fox News and talk radio.
Is that fairly accurate?
Honestly, you baffle me.
You seem so intelligent. You have
a good education. You read a lot. You’re articulate. You’re obviously pretty smart.
So when did you decide to put blinders on? When did you decide to close your eyes and
ears to anything that might conflict with your beliefs?
In short, when did you become what you ridicule – a
narrow-minded, hypocritical bigot who rejects facts in favor of conspiracy
theories and half-truths?
Is it because you want to fit in with your well-off liberal
friends?
You know, your friends who probably work in academia, the
public sector, or in firms that rely on government contracts? The ones who still hate Bush and blame him
for everything? The ones who are so
proud of voting for our first black President?
The ones positively thrilled that soon they’ll be able to make history
again by voting in America’s first female President?
You know who I’m talking about, don’t you?
If you’re only liberal to be liked by them, that’s just
sad. You can do better.
I’m not asking you to become a conservative; I’m not in
agreement with them on everything, either.
In fact, you might find that you and I share a lot of common ground
between us. So I’m not asking you to abandon
your liberal principles. Far from
it. I just want you to lower your
defense shields a tad, get a slightly firmer grip on reality, and be a little
more reasonable to talk to.
You already know there’s something wrong with the limousine liberal
crowd running things. You don’t want to
admit it, but it’s there. You’re too
smart to miss the signs, and you could always spot bullshit a mile away. At least you used to be able to …
Once upon a time, not so many years ago, we could talk at
length about all kinds of things. Now I
find it hard to have anything more than a purely superficial discussion with
you. You’re constantly primed to
attack. So most of the time I try to
avoid you. It’s not worth the
aggravation.
You seem determined to assert your liberal bona fides at
every opportunity, and insert politics into practically every conversation. Cordial quickly mutates into
confrontational. We can’t talk about the
weather without you inserting global warming and/or climate change. Rising prices are the fault of greedy
corporations. Friends are out of work
because Republicans are stopping jobs programs.
The middle class is being destroyed by right-wingers trying to kill the
unions. A visit to the doctor becomes a
lecture on ObamaCare.
God forbid that we actually talk about politics. Or alternative explanations for why things
are the way they are. You’ll have none
of that. You’re not interested in facts;
you prefer half-assed, easily disproven conspiracy theories and
stereotypes.
Like that most Southerners are inbred redneck cracker
bastards who don’t believe in evolution and are still intent on keeping blacks
from voting. That voter ID laws
discriminate against minorities and suppress minority turnout. That voter fraud is practically non-existent. That Bush knew 9/11 was going to happen but
wanted it to go forward so he could go after Saddam Hussein.
Or that a stupid movie almost nobody saw provoked Muslims to
burn down our embassy in Libya and kill our ambassador there.
You used to laugh at crackpot stuff. Hell, we used to laugh at crackpot stuff together.
We’d joke about people wearing tinfoil hats to keep aliens
from reading their thoughts.
Now, when the NSA does essentially the same thing by
screening our calls and e-mails and tracking us online it’s not a joke anymore. But because it’s under Obama it’s okay with
you.
When Nixon bugged his political opponents and created an
enemies list to be hounded by the IRS, we agreed he was a monster. When Obama
essentially bugs AP reporters and lets the IRS target conservative groups you
see nothing wrong.
Nixon lied to the public and we wanted him impeached. Obama lies to the public time and again – and
gets caught in his lies – and you think he’s doing the right thing. In fact, you keep trying to find
equivocations and equivalencies to justify his lies.
You’re not stupid.
You know he lied. Baldly and brazenly. He’s lied about the economy, ObamaCare,
Benghazi, the IRS scandal and much more.
Yet you defend him. I understood
when you defended Clinton after he lied about Lewinsky – he was a fool, but it
didn’t have much effect on his running the country. But like Nixon, Obama lied to get re-elected. That’s a much different thing.
You can read and interpret data. You know what the labor participation rate
actually means in terms of economic health.
You know that what happens on Wall Street has little to do with what
happens on Main Street. But you also know
“quantitative easing” will have to end and the market will take a hit when it
does. You know that the happy face being placed on everything is smoke and mirrors.
You know that the longer someone
stays on UC the less likely they are to find a job. You know nobody in the U.S. – legal or
illegal – has been denied medical care for lack of insurance for decades, long
before ObamaCare. You know most of the “enrollees”
from the ObamaCare website are enrolling in free Medicaid rather than the
for-pay plans.
I believe you know this.
You may not be comfortable admitting it, but you know all this is
true. Just as you knew the attack on
Benghazi had nothing to do with a movie.
And that the IRS targeting wasn’t initiated by some rogue agents in
Cleveland.
So what the Hell happened to you?
Why do you credit Obama for accomplishments he hasn’t actually
achieved, while blaming Bush, Republicans and conservatives for everything
bad? Why do you praise Democrats for “standing
up” to the Republicans when Republicans don’t have any real power?
And what’s with you and the Tea Party? How did this somewhat loosely organized group
of people become the target of so much hatred?
They’re not really even a “party”; they are more of a movement trying to
get government to be more responsible about taxing and spending. As far as I can tell, they don’t have
positions on anything other than taxing and spending.
As I said in the beginning, I’ve tried to understand
you. Really, I have. But I have to give up.
Even when I try to steer the conversation away from
politics, you won’t give it a rest. You’re like a pushy salesperson who doesn’t
know when to stop. Worse yet, you don’t
really know much about the product you’re selling – certainly not the
facts. Instead you blather on spewing
bumper-sticker clichés in an attempt to bludgeon rather than convince me.
Good luck with that.
I’ve had enough. When
you’re ready to talk rationally, I’ll be here.
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