I don't know if I've made it to that certain magical age or what, but I'm officially sick and tired of partisan politics. Not politics itself (though who needs too much of that anyway), but the politics of "my party is always right, your party is always wrong".
I see nothing wrong with people deciding that one party fits their personal ideologies better than another, but in the past few days, I've been forced to wallow in far too much partisanship. I've read columns by Molly Ivins and Don Feder, I've listened to Rush Limbaugh, I've read nodes by Saige and DMan, I've read enraged letters to the editor, I've watched politicians posture on various news programs. The only thing they have in common is knee-jerk loyalty to their chosen political party and knee-jerk hatred of those who do not belong to their chosen party. It's like watching a particularly inept puppet show--Party X raises one string, and Don, Rush, D, Bob Barr, and Elderly Reactionary X dance a jig; Party Z pulls another string, and Molly, Saige, Gloria Steinem, and Aging Hippie Z jerk around like robots. Pitiful? Hell, yeah.
Can anyone believe that these people really think that their way is the only way? Can they really believe that all Democrats are good and all Republicans are evil (or that all Republicans are good and all Democrats are evil)? Do any of them really believe that partisan politicking is in any way different from frothing nationalism or auto enthusiasts who fight about whether Ford or Chevy make better trucks? Many of these opinion writers appear to have checked with one of the political parties' headquarters to get their columns or letters approved--does anyone really think that mindless, abject toadyism is the key to improving circumstances around the nation? Can't these rabid partisans in both parties just get together somewhere, kill each other, and let the rest of us get on with our business? |
