Turn Around and Fight, Face to Face!

Hello Readers! I would like to discuss something close to my heart and this blog: the poor state of political communication or debate today. I'm mostly referring to what I see coming out of the Republicans, or the right, but I'll be fair and say that we all seem to be talking past each other these days. In my opinion, the traditional QUALITY of American political debate is in jeopardy. We all need to go back to school for a refresher.

The more society becomes interconnected by electronic networks the less we seem to understand each other, or at least LISTEN. I'm sure we've all noticed it. We all - both the right and the left - seem to be drifting apart. Where's the common ground we used to share? It's getting more and more difficult to be civil. What's the cause? Could it be the Internet? It may contribute to the quantity of today's debate, but is it possible that it detracts from the quality? That's a good question we should ask ourselves.

Take this blog for example. If you go back and read many of my posts you'll see that I go to great lengths to find facts and figures. I do a lot of homework before I write about an issue. Unfortunately most of the responses are what you might call incomplete. They're always personal, sometimes cruel, and most of the time illiterate. Instead of debating the issue they always seem to go after me. To this day, I have yet to enjoy a traditional point-by-point debate with the right. It's true. Go and look if you disagree. I dare you to find a decent debate. They usually just call me names.

It's as if we come from two different worlds, and speak two different languages. To be blunt, I've grown frustrated and lost faith in small blogs like mine as a place for actual debates. To be clear, I'm only speaking about getting responses, since I still like writing for people who just enjoy reading about political issues. I've gone back to real life, person-to person debates, usually at dinner parties, where I can really dig in. Those are fun too. Like so many of us here, I've begun to ignore the intellectual rot that has infected today's political dialog on the Internet. You know its many forms.

This blog is now simply an outlet, where I get to vent about politics to a few hundred people who stop by every now and then to read my rants and raves. I still love it when you debate, but you don't have to. I encourage healthy debate, and discourage unhealthy, stupid debate. Please, do your homework. READ! I'm speaking mostly to those on the right who seem to resist facts, while using their keyboards to vomit forth garbage that adds nothing to the debate. Their usual word fare is hardly worth the read, much less a response.

Anyway, back to the discussion about the poor state of today's political communication. Here's a great example of the way the right looks at the left today. It's a recent transcript from Rush Limbaugh:

RL: This is... it's about power, it's about control. These people genuinely look out over this country from their lofty perches. They don't like what they see. Otherwise...

Caller: So they can go somewhere else! Like, I don't understand, why do they have to stay here? Like, leave us alone!

RL: At this point, at this point Gretchen, I don't care about the why. They're not going to leave. They're trying to control it. At this point, the only thing is they must be stopped!

Caller: I agree...

RL: Within the confines of our Constitution, and the political arena of ideas, they must be stopped. I don't care why they see this country the way they see it. I don't care why a murderer does it. I don't care why a rapist does it. I don't care why this Muslim guy offed his wife's head. The NOW gang is out there saying 'oh, that's not domestic violence, that's just, uh, that's just...' what do they call it? 'Culturally honor killing. Or this woman was going to divorce him, that's against the law. That's his diversity.' I don't care, I don't care why anymore. If I figure it out, I'll be glad to tell you because it's interesting to know, but it doesn't matter in terms of defeating them.

It's so tiring. They're so tiring. I realize that Limbaugh is just trying to get ratings, and he's not a politician, but many Republicans admire him and consider him to be a solid representative of the right wing. It's still horrible! Limbaugh, Hannity, O'Reilly and Beck are all out there calling us "socialists" and "communists" these days, and they won't allow for a real debate to counter their BS. The really dumb ones - on the radio - are even worse, calling us "fascists" and "baby killers." Unlike left wing radio, they never take OUR CALLS! They screen us out. They never welcome our best people on their TV shows! The system doesn't work!

I understand we all - on both sides of the aisle - get colorful at times, but things are getting out of hand. We deserve the right to counter their crap! I often get heated and passionate on this blog, but I'm always willing to debate my points - as long as you do it properly, POINT-BY-POINT! That's the only way to determine what side is right, and what side is LYING!

Our national conversation seems to be getting worse. The right is spending its air time calling us names. They oppose our positions without debate, and they do it while the country is FALLING APART from problems THEY CREATED! The Republicans and those on the right are being INCREDIBLY IRRESPONSIBLE in my opinion. Something needs to change, and FAST!

I have an idea! Our Democratic leaders need to challenge the Republicans to REAL POLITICAL DEBATES, like the ones held during the election, but BETTER! More PASSIONATE! The American people are worried about their future, and they would respond. If they're really feisty, the networks could sell advertising. The ratings would probably be good. Just like in school, let's put our best debaters up against their best debaters. Let's see who wins the day. We could even offer a prize. How about real power and the future of the nation.

That's today's great political challenge. Let's turn that FAT ELEPHANT around to face us, and have a series of real, honest American political debates. It may be the only way.

Friday's Political Rant #1 - Michael

My Personal Memorial for Abraham Biggs

Good Morning Bloggers - I came across a pretty horrible story in the London Times this morning about a 19-year old boy who committed suicide while being watched by up to 1,500 viewers on a live Internet site.

I wrote once before on this blog about a gay teenager in Derby, UK, who jumped to his death from the roof of a building while being mocked and encouraged to jump by people on the ground. The story was shocking to say the least.

So now we have another teenager dying while being encouraged by others who were watching online. Yes, sadly, Abraham Biggs from Broward County, Florida, took an overdose of pills while broadcasting himself on Justin.tv, a live video streaming website.

He told those watching that he was going to commit suicide and went so far as to post a suicide note on another forum before taking the pills and turning on his webcam. Supposedly those watching knew very well was he was up to, yet they did not call the police.

The Times reports that the "19-year-old lay on his bed and only after several hours of no movement did others begin to take him seriously. With the video still running, forum members managed to contact the local police who eventually broke down the door, found the body and switched off the camera. Up to 1,500 people were viewing the feed, according to one report."

Many thought he was joking. Well, I hope they can live with themselves after they failed to take him seriously. Their irrational belief that he was joking led directly to his death. I hate to say it, but I think they're partly responsible. I know myself, and I know that I would have assumed the worst and tried to intervene.

The Times says that he apparently had threatened before to commit suicide. Who cares, the boy was obviously in need of HELP! Somebody should have done something. "On Wednesday he went to the bodybuilding.com forum and detailed the amount of drugs he was going to take. The moderators of the forum reportedly did not take him seriously because of his past threats and other forum members encouraged him to carry out his threat." WOW, what a bunch of assholes! The whole story makes me sick!

They supposedly continued to insult him as he lay motionless on the bed after taking the pills. "One forum member pleaded with other forum members to contact the police and tried to e-mail the Miami-Dade police. He borrowed his father's mobile and spoke to police who directed him to the Broward County Sheriff's Department. About an hour later, the authorities arrived at the teenager's house."

Incredibly, video clips have been posted on the net and copies of the suicide note can also be found. I don't know what to think about the world we live in today. I'm sure many right-wing Republicans who believe the world will fall apart without everybody embracing Jesus will blame it on corrupt morals caused by a lack of religion in our lives, or families without moral leadership. That is BS!

Society creates the conditions for acts of violence - on others or ourselves - at multiple levels. I think it has nothing to do with religious oversight; it as to do with a lack of societal and personal responsibility. We seem to live in a world where people don't take their own actions, much less those of others, very seriously. It's crazy.

Remember, we are all our brothers keeper. We are all responsible. People need to STOP ACTING LIKE IDIOTS and take more responsibility. We should never assume that people are pretending to drown, or choke, or commit suicide. They are nothing to joke about. ALWAYS ASSUME THE WORST! Always try to HELP and to hell with the consequences. If it turns out to be a joke, well then, shrug it off. It's a poor reflection on them, not us.

So, I never knew you Abraham, but I would like to say that you deserved better. People should have helped you. I would have helped you. People should have cared more. I regret that you had to die because we live in a society that does too little, too late. My personal memorial to you Abraham is to promise to act if I ever see anybody hurting like you did. I promise to do something. No matter what, I promise to take them seriously.

Rest in peace Abraham.

Personal Memorial for Abraham Biggs - Michael