[quote=zk][quote=njtosd]
Do you know anyone, zk, who likes to be wrong? There is equal jerkish behavior on both sides of the political fence – it just bugs you more when you don’t agree with the jerk’s politics.

[/quote]

No, nobody likes to be wrong. That was my point.

And I don’t disagree with their politics as much as you probably think. I have many views that are right of center.

What bugs me is that this massive apparatus, the right-wing noise machine, is set up to manipulate them. If there were a left-wing noise machine that continually and powerfully and pervasively, ubiquitously, even, tried to manipulate those who lean left, that would bug me just as much.

What I would like is for there to be less emotional manipulation going on. People being told how to feel and then feeling that way. Never mind how to think; thinking, unfortunately, doesn’t even enter into it.[/quote]

I believe that both sides have massive noise machines designed to encourage the “manipulatees” to make political donations. You can’t be a hero if there isn’t a crisis. I have pointed out in other posts that people’s politics have been shown to have a genetic and perhaps biochemical basis. For example: http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/the-genes-of-left-and-right/

And I see the ongoing political debate as something similar to a cat arguing with a rabbit about whether meat is better than grass. The two sides see the world very differently. And I believe the rabbit and the cat both believe the other is stupid for its preferences and that if they could just express things the right way, that stupid rabbit/cat will see the light. Plus it’s fun to feel smug and trade stories with other cats/rabbits about the absolute obliviousness and/or moral depravity of the other group. It’s as old as the hills. Doesn’t anyone see it?