JoB
It’s unfortunate that i am the only one standing up for Hillary on this forum…
I don’t do it because i think it is fun.
I do it because i think it is fair.
I do it because this is the democratic process.
I don’t think anyone is too stupid to figure this out on their own..
but i do think it is too easy to listen to only those who agree with you and never look beyond the surface of a story if it supports what you already believe.
I believe that it is always necessary to stand up and present the other side of the story even if that is the unpopular thing to do. and i truly can understand that doing that well can make me very unpopular..
I don’t dislike anyone because they hold differing opinions than mine. My entire family holds radically differing opinions than I. My husband often holds some differing opinions than I. Even my best friend holds differing political views.
I challenge what they say and think regularly even tho I like them and want to get along with them… because that leads to well thought out positions.
And i appreciate that they challenge me.. it makes me think.
What i don’t appreciate is the tendency to demonize anyone who holds differing opinions… to label them and insult them. To require the continual citing of references which themselves have to be defended for their validity…
To score points just to score points…
I try very hard not to do that… Sometimes that is hard to do.
I will challenge the hypocrisy of holding your opponent to a different standard than you hold your own candidate ….
and will call anyone on their own lack of consistency… as i expect to be called on mine.
but i try very hard to never call anyone a hypocrite or to call them a liar.
I try very hard never to call anyone stupid. Or to imply that their opinion doesn’t matter.
i try very hard to never be unkind.
I apologize if i have mistaken something someone else said.. or if i have either said something wrongly or simply said something wrong.
and most of all.. i try very hard never to make any kind of personal attack on any person who holds a different opinion than i do.. even when they defend it by attacking me.
And that’s sort of what i expect from others.
I don’t hold anyone to the absolute of any of those standards… as i certainly don’t expect myself to be able to always live up to them… but i do expect to try.
and i hope everyone else does too.
That may explain why i am so troubled by the bitterness in this campaign…
by the fact that it seems to be centered on a love/hate relationship with the Clintons.. or with Hillary herself.
Who is Obama? How can any of us know?
We are so busy either defending or attacking Hillary that the poor man just plain gets lost in the process.
if he is our candidate this fall.. who will we be promoting?
Obama must be more than “not hillary”.
This primary must be about more than “not hillary”.
But this conversation isn’t about more than “not hillary” and that deeply saddens me.