A Nation Divided by Angry Rhetoric

I just read the townhall.com article, By 2024, The Democrats Will Be An Atheist Party. I simply don't understand how this kind of rhetoric can win voters and minds away from the progressive agenda. This kind of 2^nd grade name calling does nothing to win elections – all it does is alienate those who might be on the line. After reading that piece I have to wonder if they might be intentionally trying to throw the election. Do they hate the GOP so much they would throw the election?

To change the economic course of this country we can't sit around worry about what faith someone follows, or even those who chooses none of the above. We want people to accept our economic system no matter if they are Christian, Muslim, Hindu, or Atheist. If conservatives like Townhall demand we have a Christian only nation then we are not on the same side.

From Townhall.com: “Democrats are waging war on the faithful and are even comfortable booing God on national TV. Give it three more presidential election cycles and the Democrat Party’s platform will be expressly antireligious.

Do you really want politics to turn into some religious war? Religious wars have a nasty history. When discussing politics we want a government that treats all people equally, no matter their religious beliefs. It is very unlikely that the Democratic Party will become anti-Christian. If it should ever take that extreme position then it will be because of such articles as the one on Townhall.com.

If the writer on that website really believes in the Constitution they will realize that we are all equal under the law. It is only equality under the law for which the right should be fighting. Angering those who currently support the Democratic Party will never lure them away. Name calling and hateful rhetoric doesn't further the cause, it only makes money for the website.

If the GOP, Republican Party, and their supporters want to use hateful rhetoric, you could push libertarian voters like myself away. If you don't need/want the libertarian or democrat swing vote, just say so directly and you can save people like me a lot of time.

The American people are tired of this name calling. The GOP and conservative candidates will once again find themselves on the losing end if they and their supporters don't start talking about actionable change and not angry rhetoric. Many days the only way I can tell the difference between a Democrat and a Republican is by the rhetoric they use.

The internet is filled with websites and groups that have only one agenda, to make money. They have found that angry rhetoric brings in new people who by simply visiting the website can be a cash cow for the group. They want your donations. The best way to increase donations is to stir the passion inside readers and viewers. Turning a molehill into a mountain can be a valuable asset. All too often the truth is lost.

I spend far too much time watching people fight on Twitter and Facebook. Too often the debate is quickly reduced to name calling. The argument often comes down along religions beliefs and not the issues themselves. I find few willing to compromise. Most see compromise as the other side caving to their demands. This is why we have a stalemate in congress. Each side blames the other for the stalemate, but both sides are to blame. In the past the president or congressional leaders were the ones who brought about compromise. Neither side seems to ever believe a third option might be the only workable compromise. The best compromise is not always taking a little from each side to create a new whole.

For decades we often saw that only Ron Paul was capable of a different path. We all sometimes called him crazy, and maybe he might be a little. In hindsight a little craziness might be exactly what we need. Many people think my world view is crazy. Maybe they are – and maybe that's just what the country needs at the moment. You can be sure the current path is crumbling under our feet. The current path is a game of two sides. One side cries for more government and the other for less, while both sides seem to detest government, in the end they both ask for more.

I was just in a discussion about ending drug prohibition. Every person for continuing prohibitions expressed great fears for what might happen if it ended. I tried to explain that in modern times we don't know a life without prohibition. We do know the crime created by alcohol prohibition and we know that in the early years of this country there was almost no regulations on drugs. We know that the country wasn't filled with addicts. We know that crime was relatively low.

It is time for some out of the box thinking and action, not angry rhetoric. There are those who want a divided people. A nation divided and bound to an ideological war is easier to control and lead. We will never get the extremist from either side to stop fighting, but those of us who can sit down and talk sensibly might have a chance to change the nation. The time is fast approaching when we must change as a nation or watch it fade into obscurity.