Where everybody knows your name

After reflecting on some hotly political bar talk from the past few days, I feel it's safe to say the following:

1. We all want the same thing. Both parties of this dispute really do want to conform America to their own image. Neither of the two sides are happy with how things stand right now and both want to push in opposite directions. If you accept this, it should be no surprise there's friction (or fraction) between the two. At the macro level, we both want a better America, we simply have different opinions on what "better" is. This is important because...

2. Nobody has ulterior motives. I can't speak for Falwell and his crew, but I'm not particularly interested in a theocracy. Ascribing democracy-toppling motives to evangelicals just isn't right. In the same way, ascribing unpatriotic motives to those on the left is equally wrong. I think understanding this might heal a lot of damage.

3. Willful ignorance is not bliss. It's becoming more and more apparent to me that we're losing the ability to relate to people who are different than us. We're not citizens, we're consumers. Consumers make choices. And each of us tailor our consumption (food, news, friendships, vegetables) to our desires. But sadly in news consumption, we head for the candy isle of news that affirms what we believe. This would be Fox, WSJ, Rush and Powerline Blog for Repubs and CNN, NYT, NPR and Daily Kos for Dems. By avoiding conflicting points of view, we're really avoiding our vegetables - things that challenge us, but make us better. So now most of us Red Staters are woefully, and willfully, ignorant of our Blue State brothers. Do they have back yard barbecues? I don't know. But I bet they couldn't explain to me the difference between an Armenian and a Pentecostal.

4. We need to stop up-thinking ourselves. Depending on your perspective, we're all made in the image of God or all derivative of the same monkey. Either way, talking down your neighbor is about like telling yo mama jokes to your brother. The perspectives gained from life in the Northeast or Southwest may be unique and valuable in different ways, but still valuable.

5. I'm about ready to drop politics for a while and go back to finding funny links - my life passion.