Dissonance

[Griff]

Originally Posted by marichiko

On the other hand, people who gravitate toward the other end of the political spectrum seem to be pretty free in their criticisms of the country, but more concerned about the well-being of its individual citizens. Like we should have better governmental security nets for the old folks or people who get sick or who need help because they're had a run of misfortunes in their lives.

I think hard left and hard right pretend to respect the individual but when the rubber meets the road neither trusts their fellow citizens to make the most appropriate choices for themselves. More and more we insert law as the lubrication between people where community might suffice. This tendency moderates as you move toward the center where Americans share more values, but it never goes away (ignoring Badnariks <1%). It will be interesting to see how both parties market their positions, from here on out. Bush is in a bad spot with the fiscally responsible and Kerry is only "not Bush" to the anti-war crowd. To some extent they both have problems with their natural base which will lead to tension when they go for the center.