Saturday, March 19, 2005

Cadenhead presents food for thought this Saturday AM... John Scalzi believes that the real dividing line in this polarized country is not liberal vs. conservative, but rational vs. irrational: I'm far more comfortable with some conservatives than I am with some liberals, even though my own positions tend more liberal than not. I'm rather more comfortable dealing with someone whose politics I disagree with, but I can see how they got to where they are, than someone who politics are in line with mine but who appear to have arrived at those politics without an intermediary step of, you know, thinking about those politics. [Workbench] Can you imagine the vitrol that would be created if some enterprising folk(s) started categorizing pundits, politicos, hacks (the political kind -- a term which predates the Internet), and the politically religious (or is it religiously political?), among others.  Scary thought -- this reminds me of some of the history lessons concerning the extremism found in Europe from the early 1800's til the end of Communism (with Nazism probably being the peak).  Large masses of the philosophically ungrounded following extreme, irrational thought leaders hoping to be delivered to a heaven on earth... Hmm... 7:05:20 AM