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Politics : Politics for Pros- moderated -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: aladin who wrote (86683)	11/17/2004 12:18:16 PM
From: Lane3	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 793717

Now to cover their defeat Dems argue it must be an anti-intellectual reaction. That's a good tactic for avoiding looking at the question. Since you and Karen love to disparage the intellect of those you disagree with And that's another good one. I cannot speak for Mary, but if you think I am disparaging intelligence, you're missing my meaning. And if you think that I'm doing so because we have differing opinions, you're off by 180. I love debating with people with whom I disagree. My whole objective is to engage people who look at things differently so we can collaborate in turning over ideas to our mutual enlightenment. How else do we grow? I am more like folks here philosophically than unlike them, and certainly not a Dem. Where I differ is that I want to listen and learn as well as facilitate that in others. When people disparage that practice or react against it, that's a symptom of anti-intellectualism. Comforting oneself with truisms and the companionship of one's fellow travelers is anti-intellectual. It's not what opinions anyone has that demean the intellect, and certainly not whether those opinions agree or disagree with mine. Most opinions can be supported to a large extent. It's when you can't explain your positions, when you don't think there's any need for an explanation of your positions because the truth is out there, when you toss out hackneyed slogans thinking they're arguments, when you respond viscerally to cognitive dissonance as a threat, that's anti-intellectual. There are people of all political persuasions who do that. The era of the dittohead, though, has elevated it to some sort of desirable cult behavior, much like, it seems to me, the disfunction in the ghetto. I have been talking about this subject for as long as I've participated in this thread. My latest comments have nothing to do with the election but are an ongoing theme. Engaging the question once again in the shadow of the election issue is just bad timing on my part. I'll tell you the same thing that I told the progressive friend I mentioned earlier. There are perceptions out there about blues (same as there are about reds). Most of these perceptions have some basis in fact. Denying them is not helpful because they just fester and because they work against your side, whichever it may be. Imposing political correctness against those who dare mention them is not the answer either. (I shouldn't have to explain that to this crowd.) The only hope is to sort them out dispassionately and in good faith. Or I suppose one could wait until they blow over and are replaced by some different and equally unattractive perception.