In the least, we all need to realize that the fact that we don’t agree on everything is not only ok, it is essential to our progress on so many levels.  Without conflict, there is no drive.  Without disagreement, there is no discussion.  We should not be striving for equalibrium, but for growth.  If we start to assume that the answers to the problems of today need be no different than those of yesterday or tomorrow, then we have lost sight of things and any answer developed under such pretenses is bound to fail.

I cannot find the quote I’m looking for, but I read a quote once that went something to the effect of this:  One man has no more right to extinguish the voice of the rest of the world than the world has to extinguish the voice of one man. (if anyone knows what quote I’m looking for here, please help me out)  While I agree that every person is entitled to their own opinions and the expression thereof, when said opinions enfringe upon the freedoms and rights of others I don’t think such opinions need be broadcast and the media in this nation needs to be careful to what extent they allow these voices to be heard.  I accept that in this nation we have separatists and reactionary factions just as we have anarchists, racists, liberals, socialists, fundamentalists, etc.  But we don’t need another witch hunt in this nation.  If your state or district is represented by someone who might hold such values as to startup a new era of McCarthyism, you best do your part to see that your vote reflects the representation in which you believe.

Again – read and consider.

If there is one thing these last 2 weeks has cemented in my mind, it is that I am fairly liberal-minded.  I have known that already, but if there was any doubt.  Whatever doubt Obama hadn’t extinguished, Palin finished off (Jon Stewart helped a bit, too).  But I guess because I spent more time talking about the negatives and the issues that I took with what I heard of late, the code that tries to figure out what keywords to base advertising on saw a saturation of GOP-related information.  I guess if I was eagerly committed to shifing this tide, I could just write a whole paragraph or 2 of Barrack Obama over and over again (or I could actually write something positive about him … worth considering).  But I’m not that petty – after all, the advertisers are paying me, not vice versa.  So if a couple of pennies from McCain’s warchest end up trickling into this liberal’s bank account, so be it.  I mean, if by some chance he manages to get elected, I’m a long way from that $5 million middle-class mark so I’ve better start working on getting there.