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

To: Nadine Carroll who wrote (209058)	6/19/2007 7:56:15 PM
From: Lane3	Respond to of 793964

How do you love anything about America when you think its entire democratically elected government is so evil? Nadine, I guess we've run the course on this one. There's so much that I can't relate to but I think now I have finally isolated a couple of disconnects. One is that I compartmentalize and you don't. I guess you're an all or nothing sort of gal. Let me try an example. Picture your city's basketball team. You've grown up with them and you've loved them all your life. You're a huge fan. Now the team acquires a starting point guard that offends you. Maybe he's a dirty player or carries himself like a gangster off the court. Or maybe he makes anti-Semitic statements. You can't stand this player, you are angry at the team management that acquired him, and at the rest of the team for ignoring or making light of something you consider unacceptable. In that scenario, how do you feel about the team? Do you stop loving your team? Do you root against them every game? Do you become anti-home-team? Maybe you do. I know that I can still love my team--with the glaring exception of that point guard and his apologists. I'll be happy when he's gone, which at some point he will be. Meanwhile I'll wear my teams colors and cheer for them every game because they're my team. For me, nothing is all bad or all good. I don't apply either the halo effect or the devil effect. It seems that you do. I guess there's no right or wrong here, but those views are definitely different. The other is that you and I have a very different idea about what comprises this country. When I think of this country and loving it, I think about the Grand Canyon, Dixieland jazz, Silicon Valley, cheerleaders, Betsy Ross, Amazon.com, and volunteer fire departments. Somewhere way down on my list would be the administration in Washington. You seem to equate America with Washington. To me, Washington is the city next door where I hope the politicians are so tied up in knots that they can't do anything to screw up this wonderful life we have here. Now there are things about my America that I can't stand. I can't stand country music. I hate the coarseness that has taken over our society. And the failure of education and critical thinking. I despise our perilous addiction to social welfare. I could go on and on. And, oh yes, I like Bush even less than country music. But to me, Bush isn't America. The Federal government, which employed me for thirty years, is not America. Apparently to you, they are. Maybe you don't compartmentalize because you see only one compartment, the administration. I have trouble getting my head around that. You, apparently, have trouble seeing the America that I love despite the compartments that are less than loveable. I'd call that an impasse.