Sunday, October 05, 2008
Psychology of Partisanship
Here are a few wise words about how (and possibly why) we divide among party lines and develop distrust of others. It is a well timed discussion considering our national political divide. We heard a bit of this tone in Biden's comments in the last debate when he talked about moving past our tendency to question the motives of others. Unless we start our political debates with the acknowledgment that we all come to the table with good intentions, the debate will fall apart.
Brian McLaren also had a great post about this video.
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2 comments:
I guess I'd buy off on your comment on Biden if I hadn;t seen his disclosed tax returns for the past 5 years.He didn't give but a little over $300.00 in charitable, tax deductable contributions in 5 years. He averaged a little over a quarter of a million a year in income. I don't think his ability to give charitably should be a pre-condition for running for political office, but it says something about the guy and his priorities. Who knows maybe he gave alot but just didn't keep records so his accountants didn't anotate this on his returns. He is a great debater. But I think to say Mccain is going to be just like Busch is just not true. Palin did a good job showing that she has a grasp of the issues. I'm not sure Al Gore ever really had that.That's a political comment to try and capitalize on the poor popularity of George Busch. Thanks for the Ted link that was interesting.
anonymous,
I suspect from your comment that you are voting republican (or considering it). I think your comment points to a key difference between the two political viewpoints. You seem to be (as typical with republicans) interested in charity rather than justice. Charity is nice and in vogue in the white middle class christian sort of way, but it is rarely ever effective. Charity is a band-aid. I'd rather a man give nothing to charity, yet devote his life to causes that end the need for charity (i.e. justice).
If we took all the charitable contributions and focused them on justice, we could end poverty and injustice. But, like most things, people want the quick gratification that comes with making a charitable contribution. Justice may not give you that warm and fuzzy, but it more correctly targets the problems.
Check Palin's tithing records that came out recently if your interested in the lack of charity and consistency.
I feel it is correct to expect the same from McCain as Bush because the exact same people are contributing to his campaign and advising him. If McCain had steered clear of the Republican party usual suspects, then I'd have more respect for him. None of these candidates work in a vacuum. We are getting their handlers and McCain is being run by Karl Rove, Phil Graham and the same group of oil company lobbyists and defense contractors that have advised Bush for the last 8 years. How could he be anything different with the same advisers?
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