tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2790724751274355836.post1644022828503210902..comments2023-10-26T01:30:46.850-07:00Comments on Quarketypes: "I. HAVE. HAD. ENOUGH. OF. YOU!!!"John S. Clinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01926850967801484573noreply@blogger.comBlogger7125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2790724751274355836.post-87119919262146885932009-09-07T22:48:44.898-07:002009-09-07T22:48:44.898-07:00Thanks Judy, and Tracy, for that wonderful respons...Thanks Judy, and Tracy, for that wonderful response! I too am often at a loss to know how best to respond to the craziness. I swerve between anger and apathy... and daily feel growing fear for the country I love. Sometimes, saying "I have had enough of you!" works wonders... it stops them in their tracks, when they realize that you're calling them on their BS. Others just keep plowing ahead, further and further into the abyss. And if 1 in 4 is beyond all hope of reaching, it means that 1 in 4 kids are growing up with this same poison being pounded into their heads, so that they will grow up and perpetuate this nonsense into generations hence. <br /><br />Until we take back our media, which is the real culprit here, I fear nothing will change. <br /><br />I do take heart, though, when I see the younger people, like my three boys, who seem to think all this ranting and raving is just plain silly... or really, really annoying. Even young people on the other side of the political aisle, like Meghan McCain, speak out against this craziness. So perhaps... just perhaps... all is not yet lost.<br /><br />Thanks again Judy for posting your friend's response... and to all those who responded here, thanks to you as well!John S. Clinehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01926850967801484573noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2790724751274355836.post-75464417648754504922009-09-07T09:24:11.213-07:002009-09-07T09:24:11.213-07:00I got this eloquent response to this link from Tra...I got this eloquent response to this link from Tracy Heller Regis:<br /><br />Yes it does sum it up. Overall it’s pretty scary and disturbing what some people will say and do and what people will believe; fear and ignorance are a frightening and dangerous combination.<br /><br />However more than being angry at the individual nutty people running around, I am increasingly furious with our elected officials and other people in charge for actually giving this group of nuts such a loud voice and for treating them with any degree of seriousness. One of my favorite books is The End of Faith by Sam Harris; he makes a number of excellent points. One of the premises of his book is that it’s completely taboo to give someone a hard time about their religious beliefs, we’re not allowed to call someone out for saying or doing ridiculous things, someone’s faith always exonerates them from bad behavior (and I would argue it’s a lot of religious groups giving us our grief now). Another point he makes is the fact that liberals, such as ourselves, are also very much to blame, because we preach acceptance of everyone’s ideas and don’t want to step on toes or be impolitic, and that is a big problem we face. At some point as a rational body we have to start saying: “You are not evolved or thoughtful enough to engage in this debate. Or sorry you don’t appear to have developed any critical thinking skills, and as a result we can’t and won’t take you or your opinion seriously.”<br /><br />I feel bad for a number of people who hold these views because they really don’t know any better. I wonder if I was given no valid information in my life, what would I think? I may well be as narrow-minded as they are. So then I wonder who is really to blame for this terrible divide in our country right now. The answer I keep coming up with is all of us. We support all the overly dramatic TV shows that are demoralizing, we tune into FOX news and other programs that don’t focus on issues only on drama, and we don’t care about real journalism anymore; people enjoy the drama of a good, insulting fight. Now as individuals, maybe we don’t support this behavior or trend, I personally don’t, but collectively we do, otherwise it wouldn’t be happening. The current culture has to change.<br /><br />The founding fathers were strongly against the common man having much power because they didn’t believe most people were up to it, case in point right now. Our democracy is built on the idea of majority rules, with minority rights, sadly right now we are letting the minority group of lunatics make the rules, and have all the rights. We let them frame every debate that takes place in this country, and we allow them to paint intelligent and sincere individuals as ridiculous buffoons. It makes me sick to my stomach, I can barely read the news each day I get so angry.<br /><br />So since I can’t change the people around me, and fighting with them doesn’t do any good (I know, I tried) I’m instead working on being a better person myself and hopefully that will have some positive effect in someway, somehow. I’m hoping that if I can be less angry and more reasonable then I’ll be better poised to set a good example. Admittedly, almost daily I fantasize about calling someone a fucking moron, or lunging across a room to throttle some idiot, but I’m doing that less and less. I really don’t know what else to do. Also I try to avoid discussions with the 1 in 4 crazies, because even saying “I have had enough of you,” may somehow give the impression they are saying something worthwhile that I’ve had enough of, when in fact they are doing no such thing.<br /><br />How’s that for my two cents worth!!!!<br /><br />TracyUnknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13507068882725169100noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2790724751274355836.post-53539290913414542232009-09-05T19:17:46.738-07:002009-09-05T19:17:46.738-07:00It's just the latest from both sides. We'...It's just the latest from both sides. We've had claims that 9/11 was a Bush-Cheney conspiracy, that the Clintons murdered Vince Foster and dozens of other people, and that Reagan cut a deal with Iran so that they would not release the hostages, while Carter was still President. Everyone and their mothers have a theory of who shot JFK. And the fact that one conspiracy -- Watergate -- was true means that all the others are, as well. And those are just Presidential conspiracies. Throw in Ollie North and Janet Reno and we can have a lot of fun.<br /><br />Both extremes are culpable and their loudness compels the parties play to them, not to anything sensible. Until we stop playing choose up sides and condemn them all, they're going to be running the political show.Chucknoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2790724751274355836.post-49252986637448067732009-09-04T21:06:24.828-07:002009-09-04T21:06:24.828-07:00Well spoken. Did you lose your Facebook account? Y...Well spoken. Did you lose your Facebook account? Your name is no longer there and you have no picture on the posts you made to my links.Stevehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18389458818431848912noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2790724751274355836.post-62707900800564159652009-09-04T18:16:16.910-07:002009-09-04T18:16:16.910-07:00AMENAMENLisanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2790724751274355836.post-40164025111870562512009-09-04T18:09:09.342-07:002009-09-04T18:09:09.342-07:00Welcome to today's edition of Simple Answers t...Welcome to today's edition of Simple Answers to Simple Questions. Here's today's question:<br /><br />Q: "Are these the final fruits of Nixon's corrupt administration?"<br /><br />A: Yes.<br /><br />This has been another edition of Simple Answers to Simple Questions.Lex Alexanderhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05364989805025038306noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2790724751274355836.post-11536394415871972942009-09-04T14:06:01.584-07:002009-09-04T14:06:01.584-07:00Excellent post, sir.Excellent post, sir.Scribenoreply@blogger.com