I read this thread yesterday and while I recognize that it is meant to be humorous I found myself shaking my head at the very real mindset behind the humor. It seems that being a social and/or fiscal conservative in this country is now synonymous with being a poorly educated hick who has been fooled by the rich, white robber barons - or worse - actually being one of the robber barons.
A very good friend of mine was recently bitching about the idiocy found in red states. Rednecks. Racists. Selfish rich people. On and on he went about the idiocy... even though he lives squarely in the middle of suburban Illinois and is surrounded by the very things he loathes in red states. He has only lived in the middle of that very blue state, but he
knows the evil of the red. He
knows anyone who supports McCain is either evil or stupid. He
knows anyone who opposes higher taxes is selfish and anti-middle class. He
knows anyone who doesn't demand an immediate withdrawal of our troops from the middle east is truly anti-american. He knows all of these things because he is a tolerant, open minded, well educated, progressive, black man. He knows that those are the evils of the red, so he enthusiastically supports Obama who will confront those evils head on.
Those were my thoughts after reading this thread. Then last night we had dinner at a local (read as tiny, authentic, hole in the wall) mexican joint. The kids were bugging the shit out of me so I started drifting. In the booth behind me was a mexican couple with their two kids and an adult friend. I listened to them calmly and rationally speak to their friend about why they were supporting McCain. They spoke about immigration policy, taxes, and social issues. They laughed at Palin but said it was cool that a nutty chick from the boondocks could possibly make it to the White House. I didn't agree with all their points, but I thought to myself, "these people certainly don't fit the currently popular stereotype of conservatives."
At the booth next to us was a table full of middle age white couples. They were also talking politics. One couple supported Obama. They were rational about it. They simply believed that taking more from the rich to help the poor was the right thing to do. Their friends calmly and rationally gave their opinion on why their fiscally conservative ideas were better. They were all friendly, intelligent, well-spoken people.
I live in a red state. Extremely dysfunctional, but red. I am fiscal conservative and a socially moderate/conservative. I'm educated. I'm fairly intelligent. I have all my teeth and rarely say nuke-u-ler. I find the arrogance found in the attitudes that generate 'humor' as found above extremely grating and yet pervasive. I respect nearly everyone in the cellar. Most are very intelligent and genuinely thoughtful people... except when it comes to this issue. The board is still largely flavored by Philly with seasoning coming from England. Most of the people who visit and decide to stay in the cellar are very comfortable with the left of center beliefs (firmly and proudly blue). That's cool, I don't have an issue with what anyone chooses to believe. I do have to say though it is incredibly disappointing when the condescension gets as thick as it is right now. Because most of you are blue you probably don't even see it. I lol'd when I read someone's post about how they haven't met ANYONE who supports McCain... really? Think about it. Maybe that has to do more with your insular environment than the actual beliefs of the country.
This post is longer than I intended, but my point is one I've made many times in the last four years. Two people can look at the same data and come to different conclusions about the best course of action without one of those people necessarily being stupid, uneducated, racist, or any other derogatory term thrown about now. We each have our internal, personal framework of right/wrong, good/better/best. We each have different areas of knowledge and experience. We each have different processing abilities - emotional/logical. All of those specifics make up the individual framework through which all data must pass. That framework will dictate what the conclusion is based on innumerable variables. Coming to different conclusions based on the same data does not require one individual to be superior to the other.
This has been a Public Service Announcement.
