Its Sunday, OCT 22..Approx 2 weeks before the election and as I sit behind this keyboard and monitor, I wonder about the current state of our union...Has there ever been a time in our history when we were so divided?

When dissenters were called "un-American"?
When critics were deemed traitors?
When politicans were so brazen to go on the air and accuse fellow politicians of WANTING "the enemy" to win?

I have lived in these shores for "only" 14 years..but in those 14 years, I have always been proud to call this MY HOME. It is and will continue to be that "shining city on the hill" However, I feel like some of that shine is beginning to lose its luster. Not because what it represents is no longer valid, but rather the inhabitants of the city have stopped caring about the city and rather only care about being on the "winning" side?

Since when was it ok to be a Republican or Democrat before being an American? Since when was it ok to excuse bad behaviour from our elected officials because we feel that doing so makes us look bad? To look a fellow American in the eye and call them un-American should not be done lightly, but yet from dawn to dusk, on the radio and TV we hear and see it each day.

The delegates who went to Philadelphia in 1776 were not Republicans or Democrats. They were Americans. They had their differences but they also realized that those differences weren't enough to keep them apart. Yes..England may have been the "bogeyman" but there was unity in the declaration of INDEPENDENCE...

Tell me: Is that so different from our common enemy today? Why does it seem to the talking heads on radio, that the bogeyman is Nancy Pelosi? Or John Murtha? Or Harry Reid? Are these individuals more dangerous to America than Osama Bin Laden? Are these individuals hoping for the destruction of America..the same country that has given them their success? Are these individuals truly supporting the terrorists? How "naive and dumb and disingenuous" do you have to be to believe that a politician of the minority party wants the destruction of our beloved nation?

But then..it is an indication of how "we..the people" have lowered the level of discourse and debate in this country. And what we hear on the airwaves just lowers the bottom even further. I live in a market that has 3 powerful AM stations and the more I listen, the more insulted I feel as a listener..wondering whether some of these individuals believe what they say, of if they are actors on a stage playing their parts:

860 - Bill Bennett, Laura Ingaham,Dennis Prager, Michael Medved, Hugh Hewitt

970 - Glenn Beck, Rush Limbaugh, Todd Schnitt and Sean Hannity

1040 - Neil Boortz, Bill O'Reilly, Sean Hannity and Michael Savage


I listen to these individuals and all I hear is "talking points"...One can listen to Laura Ingraham use terminology and by 7 pm, Hugh Hewitt is using the same lingo. To be honest, the only ones I appreciate are Prager and Medved. Why?

Well..its not because I agree with them (not always..anyway) but because their shows are actually of an independent nature. Prager is actually interesting because his topics are of a wide ranging variety and is very thoughful and analytical. Medved is a "shill" but.....he is a shill that engages in give and take and actually entertains opposing viewpoints..EVERYDAY!!

In a just world, Dennis Prager and Micahel Medved will have more listeners than Hannity, Hewitt and Savage. But as fate would have it, Savage is supposed to be #3 while Hannity is only second to the comic and entertaining "EIB Host on loan from GOD"!!

Why am I posting this info? Because these folks have the loudest voices in our society. They have more listeners than cable TV has viewers or newspapers have more readers. And time and time again, we see a lot of people in our society shape their opinions based on what was heard on the radio. Right here on this forum!! People are led to believe that those with opposing views are UNPATRIOTIC, they are UMAMERICAN, they are KOOKS and CUT and RUNNERS, they are TRAITORS who want the terrorists to win...and the drivel is heard on radio everyday!!

This election is a referendum on those who have been in charge over the last 6 years. Those that have been in charge are Republicans. They are NOT evil...they simply have not "taken good care" of our Union. In 1994, the Democrats were booted out (and rightly so) because they had NOT taken good care of our Union.

- We, as a people should start thinking for ourselves...
-We need to stop following soundbites..
-We need to use other sources for our information and not just rely on one or two sources.
-We need to question our leaders and hold them accountable.
-We need to question and challenge our "favourite pundits and talking heads"
- We need to have intelligent debate and disagreements.
- WE NEED TO PUT ASIDE BLIND PARTISANSHIP FOR THE SAKE OF OUR UNION


A while back, I told a story of a close friend and workmate whose Army Recruiter husband is leaving for Iraq in January. Well, she put in her resignation the other day. She has to leave her $75,000 job behind to go live at FT Bragg with their 3 kids. This is because she cannot manage her job and 3 girls (12,9 and 13 mths) all by herself. For the next 18-24 months, the Army will help with her needs while he is in Iraq. We were "crying" together last Friday for a host of reasons but it was the only choice for her. The point here is that this "mis-adventure" is hurting so many families in so many ways, that it makes your blood "boil" when you ask for a change in plaln or strategy..only to be accused of _____________ (insert your favorite term)


I have been on this forum for over 2 years now and I love it here.. Prior to that, I have surfed around a few others and the minute I found this one, I stopped looking and I have been here ever since. I would like to be here everyday but of course..work and family makes it impossible. But this place certainly gives me a very good indication of the state of our union and sometimes, I cringe at the animosity and venom and hatred (I also do laugh at our resident comic, RIGHTY ).


On Nov 7th, I hope all of you exercise that one "priceless" right you have. (I cannot yet since I am still a resident.. I hope to change that next year coz I gotta be ready for 2008 ) But please, vote your conscience. Don't vote because its "cool" to be a Donkey or an Elephant. Vote what you truly believe. We may disagree about that but that is ok...because its all part of what makes this "city on the hill" the envy of the entire PLANET!!


Just my 2 cents!!!

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"Only a fool tests the depth of the water with both feet."

I do vote what I truly believe. But thanks for the pep talk anyway.

I just wonder why you mention that the bogeyman seems to be Nancy Pelosi or Harry Reid----but what about the biggest bogeyman of them all: President George W. Bush??? The hate for this man by those on the left has been unprecedented. And what's more: they hated him before he got sworn in. They hated him before they even gave him a chance. They hated him BECAUSE he won the 2000 close election.

Now, that's something to be terrible ashamed of.

You say the country is divided. Yes, it is....but look at whose fault that is......starting with my earlier paragraph. I was posting on a political board during the 2000 elections and when Bush won I actually had Dems tell me that "Payback is going to be a (*)(*)(*)(*)(*)." And that was their attitude towards Bush before he was even sworn in. And it's been their attitude for 6 years. And I imagine that even if Dems take over majority control, the "payback" mentality will continue. There will be Republicans saying, "they filibustered all our proposals, so we'll do the same to theirs."

And so the beat goes on.....

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"What exactly is this foreign policy experience?" Obama said mockingly of the New York senator. "Was she negotiating treaties? Was she handling crises? The answer is no."

Perhaps you need to study the period in our History that led to the Civil War?

Regards,
Gaar

__________________
"...I shall prefer emigrating to some country where they make no
pretense of loving liberty -- to Russia, for instance, where despotism
can be taken pure, and without the base alloy hypocrisy."

Abraham Lincoln

I believe the current divide in our Country began when Democrats voted to let a sitting President remain in Power, when he had committed Perjury and Obstruction of Justice.

Now, according to the precedent the Democrats have set, Perjury and Obstruction of Justice are NOT Impeachable Offenses.

That is where the true divide in this Country began, most recently anyway, in my mind.

Regards,
Gaar

__________________
"...I shall prefer emigrating to some country where they make no
pretense of loving liberty -- to Russia, for instance, where despotism
can be taken pure, and without the base alloy hypocrisy."

Abraham Lincoln

This is a different "kind" of divide.

Seems to me, that We the People gave the Republicans a chance (since '94 or so) - and they started out okay, but then they blew it, big-time.

And now they're unwilling to admit to their mistakes, and everyone knows it (it's hard to miss).

So, now, the People are going to vote for a change.

In a sense, this election could be a healing process. Some "partisans" will undoubtedly be very upset, but so what. That's what politics is all about.

Let's face it, this current administration is in the toilet, and if the best the Reps can do is keep playing the terror card and dig us deeper and deeper into a hole in terms of foreign policy, then we're all up the creek if we allow that kind of thing to continue.

The "divide" you speak of is real, but it's not one that requires a war to heal it. Just an election. Our political process is working as it should.

Yeah, I think it's a bit crazy to jump to any conclusions about Civil War. This country has had periods of polarization followed by periods of moderation as surely as periods of isolationism followed by periods of internationalism. The Civil War only happened once and it involved a clash of economies more than a clash of cultures. We just like to paint past battles as more righteous and good v. evil than reality ever was.
Right now moderation is a welcome change for most of us and the far-right wacks that want apparent inertia to continue will learn to live with it. Either the Pubs will address the call for consenus... or they will lose a lot of power.
No war necessary.

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That information is classified and to be given only on a need-to-know basis...
And I do not need to know.

Get your daily dose of truth*

* or something approximating it

being????

I am not sure I understand you here...

__________________
"Only a fool tests the depth of the water with both feet."

Play dumb on your own time. Gaar is correct.

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Delivering tasty bite-sized Clues to liberals since 1965.

I am not as well versed in American History as Gaar probably is...Hence my question.. Is asking for clarification on his point DUMB?

Or maybe you can clarify his point, Quiller...

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"Only a fool tests the depth of the water with both feet."

I don't recall anyone saying the reason had to be something specific to today's reasons, did they?

The FACT is the period just before our Civil War was a time of GREAT DIVIDE in our Country, even within the Government itself. Just look at some of the SCOTUS decisions during that period, and it is quite apparent that things were "on the edge", as it were...

No matter the reason, I was just stating the fact that we are FAR from being in a period of being in the greatest divide in this Country, although it may seem like it for those that have been relegated to a Party with basically very little Political power, at this time.

Suffice it to say I am also very amused by those in these Forums who have "already" determined the outcome of the coming Election, and are basically counting their chickens before they are hatched.

I can only hope they are given a bit of a surprise on Election day, and there is plenty of crow to be eaten around here.

As for me, I will wait for the results before I say anything about how and why I believe the Elections have gone as they have.

Regards,
Gaar

__________________
"...I shall prefer emigrating to some country where they make no
pretense of loving liberty -- to Russia, for instance, where despotism
can be taken pure, and without the base alloy hypocrisy."

Abraham Lincoln