Play nice, please
Oct 26, 2004 Feminism/Politics
I’m so frustrated by the nasty bipartisan feud going on. When I’m rocking Madison, I scan through the talk radio channels and listen in on chunks here and there. My default station is NPR/BBC but sometimes the show is just too boring or frustrating and then I hit the “tune” button. I listen in on the conservative station (unless it’s Rush because I really can’t stand him), the Christian station, the African American oriented station (often a Christian program as well), and Air America.
There are times when I really need to hear Air America just because I get depressed and worried but too often I find it as angry and hateful as the right-wing station. I don’t like to listen to poisoned rhetoric even if it’s my rhetoric. (As an aside, I generally like Al Franken’s show.)
I was talking about this with a (liberal) friend of mine and she said that one of the left’s problems is that we’ve played nice for too long and haven’t stood up to the far-right’s accusations and lies. True, but I hate to see us getting so invested in our defense that we’ve become offensive.
I don’t know. I don’t know what to think. But I don’t like liberal commentators sitting there calling Bush stupid (although I personally think he’s none too bright) and saying that’s political criticism. So for example, instead of listening to someone on Air America discuss the dangerous way that Bush uses his faith to inform his policy, I listened to someone talk about how “immature” Bush’s Christianity is. (That the person speaking was, I believe, a Christian doesn’t make this comment anymore informative or helpful to the public discussion.)
(Speaking of Christian values in politics, there’s a man, Don Eckhart, running for the Ohio state senate who has my blood boiling. He has all of these signs up and down the roads here with little Jesus fish and the “T” in his name turned into a cross. This is not ok, folks!)
I hope that the pendulum swings the other way and we go back to politics without all of the dirt-mongering. It could happen. It’s happened before and it could happen again. Hopefully by the time Noah’s voting in his first election. That gives us about a decade but I think we can do it by then.
October 26th, 2004 at 11:51 am
i listened to air america the first few days it was broadcasting, when i still lived in chicago and could pick it up on the radio at work. generally speaking, i thought it was okay - until i heard randi rhodes. the venom coming out of her mouth that weak was as unconstructive and offensive as any right wing personality i’d ever heard, and i’ve just not been able to listen to it ever since.
October 26th, 2004 at 1:51 pm
Amen! Some respect of diversity would be nice! A person can make their point and be respectful at the same time.
- Dana
October 26th, 2004 at 3:22 pm
Normally, I ‘d totally agree with you. And I do, to a degree, when it comes to media. But this election feels like a matter of life and death to so many of us, certainly to me it does, and it’s brought out the mama bear in me. As far as I’m concerned, there is a serious danger looming, and if politeness and fair play have to go out the window so that danger is repelled so that my children can remain safe and can continue to exercise freedom of thought and religion and speech, I’ll deal with the down-and-dirty stuff. No holds barred, I say.
October 26th, 2004 at 4:41 pm
I will be very happy when this election ends as the partisan bickering has gotten to be as much fun as listening to a fight in the sandbox.