garote | (no subject)

From an email feedback to a random political tract on the web:

A studied characater assasination -- but I must raise one compelling question, that I would like you to consider for a moment.

This whole "left media, right media", "left agenda, right agenda", "left vs. right" thing.

What makes you think it exists, in any cohesive form?

I look at the political landscape, at the issues facing us all as Americans, and I see myriad interconnected agendas, advocating solutions for a myriad of problems.

I have not seen any indications of a "conspiracy of the left", or a "conspiracy of the right". Just the confusion of a hundred thousand arguing people. In this, I believe I am seeing the truest picture of the political process.

Coming from this perception, I have to ask you: Why are you perpetuating the idea of a "left" versus a "right"? As though the world can be cleanly divided across two cultures, only one of which is available to a given citizen? Do you really see the world this way? How much time do you spend trying to determine the "right-ness" or "left-ness" of any idea you are presented with?

Or do you have a convenient box for me too? Am I a "moderate", because I refuse to choose "sides"?

What a load of divisive hogwash this all is.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Two things

1). Humans love to categorize:
I haven't heard them, what genre of music are they? What kind of movie is it? Is she anything like my last girlfriend?
The intricacies and subtle nuances of a new band, or upcoming movie, or human being are impossible to summarize in words, of course. But, oh, we try. Not necessarily because we like simplicity, but because we have already liked/disliked some things in the past. So we use these reference points to pre-screen incoming data, to point us towards pleasure or steer us from pain.

Political issues apparently work the same way. There are two major poles, and plenty of minor ones, so when someone political hears about a controversial new issue, they can formulate some ghost of an opinion before the facts start to pour in, and associate it with previously-accepted beliefs.

Is this a harmful practice? Probably.

2). Groups of people are stronger than divided individuals, and they know it.

This feeds into itself:
Why is "the left" so vocal and strong? Because there are so many "leftist" thinkers.
Why are there so many "leftist" thinkers? Because "the left" is so vocal and strong, so a lot of people find it and use it as a reference point.

Yeah. I hate shit like that.

Where does that leave the left handed people and the right handed people.

Dizzy!

:)