Respect in politics, and the lack thereof

The following is a message sent from one friend to another. Because it is so destructive in nature and is an example of the problem with this election, I will spend some time looking at it.

"Lol, Chris I admire your will but I pity your motive and lack of unity. I didn't say anything about vote for Obama, I just had a link. I rather have someone having the ability to vote rather then regretting it later. I don't care who you vote for as long as you are an educated voter. But hey, I guess when you have a sorry party, a sorry candidate, and VP pick, all you can do is get mad and try to make this about personal issues. Like I said, I pity this and all I can do is laugh, say good luck, stay above, and look forward."

To clarify, the link being discussed is a site promoting voter registration that is paid for by Obama for America and is obviously a pro-Obama site. The name and setup of the site are undeniably intertwined with the Obama campaign. Chris was making the point that it is not right to promote someone to vote in a non-partisan manner and then direct them to a site run by the Obama campaign.

This kind of response eerily reminds me of indignant remarks like "what's wrong with Kansas?" (for voting Republican) and "It's not surprising, then, they get bitter, they cling to guns or religion or anti-pathy to people who aren't like them, or anti-immigrant sentiment or anti-trade sentiment as a way to explain their frustrations." It is damning to disagree with someone and then belittling their way of thinking because you don't understand it.

There is nothing to pity about ones motives. The motives of Chris were nothing more than his political beliefs and his respect for democracy. The author of the above response uses the word pity twice to demean the opinions of Chris. It is the use of that kind of language that illustrates the contempt and disrespect that stains what is a great freedom that we have in this nation. To pity someones opinions is a terrible thing the think and an even worse thing to express.

The fact that the author condemns Chris for his "lack of unity" and then goes one to say he pities his beliefs, that the party and candidates Chris supports are "sorry", and then finishes it up by saying all he can do is "laugh" and "stay above" Chris' beliefs, is a phenomenal example of what hypocrisy is all about. Condemning someone for lacking unity because they disagree with you and then talking down to them like an insolent child is amazingly hypocritical and wrong. It is this sort of disrespect that actually makes unity between people of differing opinions so difficult.

I think political debate is great. I think that it is awesome that we live in a country where two friends can disagree about politics but still remain friends. This is possible only because we are supposed to differ in opinion but still remain civil. Having respect for your opponent is honorable and leads to more productive dialogue. Demeaning those with differing opinions is exactly why other countries can not have the open political dialogue we enjoy as Americans. The above response illustrates the disrespectful and demeaning nature in which some would like to take the political debate. Staying above is not about looking down on someone else's opinion, it is about respectfully disagreeing.

As a side note on one comment made, a person's associations are definitely indicators of a person's character. Obama's connection and support of William Ayers is an indicator of his judgement and character. Obama's support and the work he has done for ACORN is an indicator of his judgement and character. The fact that Obama declared Rev. Wright to be is spiritual mentor and close friend is a self assessed condemnation of his judgement or character. Obama had a close relationship, as described by Obama, with Wright for more than twenty years. Either he did not know after all that time what Wright's beliefs were, which is a condemnation of his judgement (and considering that he will be selecting Supreme Court judges, it is a huge deal if he can personally know someone for that long and not know what that person believes), or he knew Wright's beliefs, accepted them, and decided to choose someone of those beliefs as his mentor, which condemns his character. Judgement and character are extremely important issues when choosing a president, especially when a candidate lacks experience. An example of a personal attack is something like attacking someone for having a pregnant 17-year old daughter or saying someone is too old and out of touch because he is not proficient in using a computer. (Even though injuries suffered while a POW are the reason for that lack of proficiency)

-The Banker