Quote:
Originally Posted by spence
Regarding polarization. I don't think anyone is arguing that politics are not polarized. That's the very basis of partisanship. The issue more is if the polarization is different now. Thos who have been in politics for decades seem to think so.
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What does "seem to think so" mean, or is that vagueness on top of a generality merely an implication? The argument is certainly easier when you don't have to be specific, when you can intimate something that "those" "seem" "to think" (not know for sure) "so."
"Maybe, perhaps, possibly," there are periods of more extreme polarization. But that just means that the political differences are more clearly defined, more clearly recognized, more ardently fought for. And if the agendas are important, more significant than usual, the extreme polarization should not be decried, but welcomed. Perhaps, maybe, possibly those who think they are fighting for resolution of what could be important issues are more willing to battle.
Just, maybe, that leftward trend in politics of both parties has hit a wall where the Republicans have become the Democrats of the 1960s-1970s and the Democrats have become and are about to go past the left of West Europeans. Perhaps, the escalating fiscal profligacy of both parties since the New Deal, has been perceived as a runaway train that needs to be stopped. Perhaps, the erosion of the Constitution from a solid rock to a malleable, changeable, living breathing flow of sand that can sift into whichever drift the current political philosophers deem "good" looks like it has arrived at a tipping point that needs to be strongly resisted. Perhaps what has transformed the normal, polite, and innocuous polarization of parties drifting away from our foundation is not the pols, not Bush, not this or that impeachment, but an injection of political awareness into a growing number of CITIZENS. It had already spread into popular culture via movies, television, radio, and now waves of folks getting angry and not taking it anymore.
Perhaps, for this more polarized duration, politicians who want to politely continue the meaningless squabbles of how much and for whom will have to become extreme and decide yes or no--or opt for a job in the "private sector."