Another comedy routine that has been playing out before us for years is George Carlin’s line that “my stuff is stuff; your stuff is crap.” I can practically hear him saying “My politician is a good guy and everyone should admit it. Your politician is a dope.” Just about every day I hear someone complain that “Some people are too harshly critical of Obama; we all need to support the President.” Many of these same folks, of course, still spew the hate speech that George W. Bush is “an idiot.”At the same time, many Republicans that complained about such treatment of Bush were none too kind about Bill Clinton, either. My point here is not to try to trace this pattern of hypocrisy to some root or to prove who did it first. Rather, just to point out the negative tenor of alleged “political debate.”
Bottom-line: name-calling is not political debate. Those that stoop to the lowest common denominator in this regard (even if light-heartedly) add nothing to the debate and quickly lose my attention and respect. If one actually engages in substantive debate, I listen and might even evolve my views. If you’re just expressing hate, I’ve got lots better things to do with my time than listen.
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