No, but solidarity means that as an American, I would do my best to convince them that jumping out of an airplane without a parachute is a bad idea. I would show my solidarity by showing respect for their decision, but not by ridiculing them and calling them names.
MM, you are relatively new to this thread. DR and I have a history going back several years. I assure you that I was not the first to call out names. It started with him.....not that that really matters.
Frankly, at this point its very difficult to tolerate his posts.......he has a bad habit of projecting his faults on others. Its insulting to say the least. And he claims to be intelligent but then sings the praises of a president who you and I both think has screwed up on a number of levels. So either he ain't as bright as he claims, or he has another agenda behind his support of Bush. Infuriatingly, no matter how bad things get, he finds a way to justify that support. Neither is good for me or this country.
Solidarity means respect, not that you share another's point of view. This is what maturity is all about.
There are times when solidarity is inappropriate. I believe this is one of those times. Whether I am wrong or right......I think there is more at stake than which party gets the most votes, or whether the US experiences another long econ. expansion.
We claim to be a benevolent, enlightened power......but yet, we are not behaving like one. There are people in power who either don't know what the hell they are doing, or do know but are filling us with a lot of baloney while they exploit a very bad situation.
I grew up in this country. It is my birthright to object when I see things going in the wrong direction. However, that birthright is not appreciated by the righties on SI. In the past 4 years, I have been threatened, turned into SI for name calling, had someone try to get my home address, banned from a conservative thread not because I name called.....in fact, just the reverse; the posters on that thread name called me 24/7, but because I posted the truth.
So when you ask me to show solidarity with the rest of America.....presumably the red voters.....you are asking a lot. Really.....why should I? You yourself have admitted that you have some real doubts about this president but you still troll the party line on issues that threaten your wallet. I see that as a sellout. This nation is going down a bad road that may well lead to a constitutional crisis. Now is not the time for solidarity or worrying solely about your wallet, but a time for standing up for what this country is supposed to represent..........the ideals identified by our founding fathers whether they meant them or not. No, I won't join forces with the red voters.........it is my opinion that they are intent on taking us backward to a place that is not good for this country nor the world.
ted |
