Both Extremes

Well, I have something that has really been irking me recently that I want to talk about. This is a blog, thus I do not always have to riddle my posts with tons of newsworthy information and can deviate to more of an opinion post just this once. Listen, I do not care if one is a Liberal, Conservative, Libertarian, Independent, Islamic, Christian, or any other label because all of these labels have the extremes on both sides. There are those Democrats who fall so far to the left that I would have to appropriately name them liberally INSANE and there are those Democrats who lean a little bit to the right who could be named moderates or some other fitting name. With Republicans there are the Conservatives with open minds and then the zealots that scream in your face and don't even want to associate with you if you are a Democrat. I have many friends who are Democrats. That doesn't prevent me from being friends with them. They obviously have reached different conclusions about life than myself. Then there's Islam and Christianity...how could I forget. I think this goes without saying, but there are some EXTREMELY radical beliefs shared by both of these religions, such as killing is the name of Allah. What I really want to focus on in this post is the Republican spectrum of beliefs. I know many out there might not agree with me, but I think this is a bigger problem than ever previously thought. I know people, good people, who are radical beyond belief. I don't fault them for that, yet I might place fault on their upbringing. I truly do not understand how some people can be so unwilling to listen to others opinions that may happen to contradict what they believe. We were all raised differently. I think one thing we can agree upon is that is important to be respectful and listen to others beliefs and then after they are done talking to either give a reason why one agrees or disagrees. We've all experienced something that is unique to every single one of us. This has helped to shape our beliefs and demonstrates political socialization. When talking about persuading others, there's the person who has no opinion, the person who has an opinion but is open to other ideas, the person who has an opinion but is closed minded and unwilling to listen to or accept anything that contradicts their beliefs, and the person who is easily manipulated into believing anything. I know many of these close-minded people from both parties and it really is quite disheartening. I know Communists, I know Socialists, Radical Christians, I know Fascists, I know Atheists, and I know that all of these groups could care less about other opinions. My point is that if you are one of these extremes, ask yourself why you are so unwilling to accept anything else. Maybe it's because the reasoning behind these beliefs might be proven wrong somewhere along the line. I've made changes in my opinions over time, not because of what others convince me to do, but what I think is rational and just. I am not a radical in the least. Frankly, I probably care far less about social issues of this country than most other conservatives, because they really don't make or break our country, in my opinion. Should we really not elect someone because they favor the federalist model of states making those decisions instead of the federal government? I don't think so. All I ask is that people start to look at their beliefs and opinions and maybe think about the reasoning behind those beliefs. We all try to support our opinions with information that favors our cause. This is the common factor in all opinions. People don't want to be proven wrong and will pick and choose whatever fits their opinion. Thus, if someone is deadset upon going to war with Iran, they will pick out intelligence estimates that favor their agenda. The same is true for the other side. Thus, we are just really trying to find an unbiased opinion, which is hard to do nowadays. There's always some bias. I don't care what anyone says about the news being completely fair and balanced. That is just laughable. The news is what it is. It sometimes deviates so far from news that it crosses the line and become an opinion piece. My fellow Conservatives are good and just people, but sometimes the zealots really irritate me. I understand where they are coming from and agree with them on some issues, but if one can't listen to other opinions and respect other opinions, what kind of animal would one be? There are always two or more sides to an issue. Not everything is as simple as black or white because there's always a grey area. Think about it. May God bless.