[quote=eavesdropper]
Because that’s all that most Americans CAN do. If you don’t want to put the time and effort and energy into education – and this means for your entire life – you’re only capable of sitting around and pointing fingers.
This is my biggest gripe about all the pontificating and sign-waving that are going on, and accusations that are being irresponsibly (and, at times, falsely) flung. Most of these people aren’t angry because they’re concerned about the state of the nation. They’re pissed off about deficiencies in their own lives. Deficiencies that, much of the time, are the result of poorly-made personal choices.
[/quote]
Eavesdropper: First off, excellent post. You made a point earlier about critical thinking and analysis, and how those abilities have vanished. I would certainly agree wholeheartedly with that, especially when sparring with posters like BigGubment or Brian. It has nothing to do with honestly and reflectively assessing a situation and then finding the best solution. No, its now abuot scoring points and pointing fingers.
What I call the “genuine liberal” or “genuine center-left” posters like SK, afx or Gandalf, bring an intelligent, thoughtful approach to debate and dialogue, but, more than that, a genuine concern for the well-being of this country. It isn’t about tit-for-tat mudslinging, or what Rich calls a “right versus left slapfest”. Its about trying to find common ground and common cause and fix the damn problem.
Unfortunately, we’re now a part of, and consumed by, a 24 hour news cycle that treats everything, no matter how mundane, stupid or non-sensical, as grist for the mill and worthy of public view. Hence, we treat a lunatic moron like Christine O’Donnell as an honest-to-God Senate candidate, or a triumphalist Know-Nothing like Sarah Palin as a Vice Presidential worthy.
My background is in accounting and corporate finance and there’s a great term called “opportunity cost”, meaning that, if I do A instead of B, I lose the opportunity to do B, which may be a better use of my time. If I sit and watch some gabbling member of the chattering class bloviate about Rick Sanchez’s purported anti-Semitism, I’m not spending time working, or raising my kids, or contributing to my part of the social contract by volunteering or helping build a better society.
You’re right: It is easier to bitch, or blame the other side, or just sit and wring our hands and piss and moan about the unfairness of it all. Hopefully, we’ll wake to the reality that that won’t get it done and we need to get off our collective asses and get back in the game. Or not. There’s always Canada.
