Wow, what some people post amazes me. Let me expound upon this statement. I just began reading the first blog that I chose to comment on. This blog is entitled “Liberal Values: Defending liberty and Enlightening Thought”. It is a liberal blog supporting the Democratic Party. Initially I thought that this blog looked very professional, and then I began to read. I don’t think that this particular blogger realizes that his audience does not just consist of people with his own opinion. Secondly, I don’t think that he realizes that those who read and are slightly unsure of their political standpoint will be completely turned off by how he addresses those with whom he opposes. Saying things like “Republicans have proven themselves to be reckless, incompetent, and incapable of governing. They seek to divide, bankrupt, and undercut America, while trashing our institutions and ignoring the rule of law. The way to get the nation back on track is to elect a Democratic president with a progressive policy agenda. If Republicans balk, we’ll ram it down their throats, to the benefit of people nationwide.” (Ron Chusid), will probably not persuade an uncertain voter to vote for the democratic or liberal candidate. But that is my personal opinion.
I then wanted to investigate blogs supporting the opposite, or nearly the opposite side of the political spectrum. I came across a blog entitled “News Busters: Exposing and Combating Liberal Media Bias”. Though the title of the blog may be a bit harsh, I found the material to be quite informative, as was the previous blog, but only in a much different way. It presents more facts and gives opinions on what is going on in a less aggressive way.
This happened several times; I would read part of a clearly democratic blog and be almost offended by the immaturity in the writing. But the more conservative blogs seemed to use less offensive rhetoric. I began to ponder why I would vote for a liberal, democratic candidate when their other supporters come across as they do. But I am sure that there are also very poorly written blogs from a republican standpoint as well. I just did not come across as many as I did those written from a democratic viewpoint.
And so I think that these two blogs will be different and very interesting through this month when I continue to compare and contrast their views.
3 comments:
First of all, let me compliment you on your discussion. I agree somewhat with your analysis, although I also don't quite meet you eye to eye.
Secondly, I believe that the writers of "Liberal Values: Defending liberty and Enlightening Thought" are a bunch of fanatical liberals, but I don't think that they are stupid. They know exactly what they writing, and that conservatives will read their controversial posts. Because of that, they believe 2 things will happen:
1. The conservatives will be offended
2. They might challenge them to a verbal joust per say
I do generally agree that the liberals are quite harsh in their discourse, however, so are the conservatives. The conservatives use just as much vigor and zealotry when it comes to politics, and there is a great deal of liberal-bashing in conservative circles. For instance, check out the blog Power Line, written by conservatives. They aren't as "friendly" as your blog. In conclusion, I have to say that there are some very well written liberal blogs, as well as some conservatives. Generally, the closer you are to the ends of the political spectrum, the more radical and outspoken your ideas are. I guess my point here is that no matter from which side of the spectrum you are from, politics are ugly.
I would also like to compliment you on your discussion. I agree with your analysis as well. The liberals are very harsh in their arguments and so are the conservatives. However, there is a difference. The liberals are more immature about it than the conservatives are. I don't think the conservatives bash the liberals as much as the liberals do to the conservatives. If they do, it is much more subtle. So, I agree with you on the point that when someone sounds immature when discussing their views, it will be more difficult for me to agree with them.
So, yes politics are ugly, but they don't have to be immature. They do not have to directly bash the opposing party.
I also agree with you. I have found the same thing to be true in the two blogs that I follow. The one from the liberal view point spends most of their time bashing republicans, while the conservative blog focuses more on issues and facts. I know that conservatives can be harsh too. However, it seems to me that these liberal blogs are much more offensive in their comments.
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