I heard Orrin Hatch talking about Ted Kennedy on NPR today. “He is to be revered. His whole family is to be revered for what they’ve done and sacrificed for our country.”
Not only am I sad at the loss of Ted, but at the loss of that connection across ideology; Hatch came to congress specifically with the desire to fight against Kennedy, and while their ideology did not waver, they became great friends. I wonder whether we have gone beyond such maturity and compassion for each other, to look beyond (not forget or ignore, but to accept) our differences.
I think that’s what concerns me the most about the current climate. Debate seems to have been replaced with partisan rhetoric and venom. It’s not just that you have vastly different viewpoints, it is that your opponent is anti-American and crazy.
A scary percent of Americans have been convinced that health care is going to become socialized medicine and we will be executing old people. They talk about “armed insurrection” and rebellion and all sorts of silly things.
Although maybe I’m just now really aware of it and it’s always been biter bickering in politics. It just seems that we are more divisive and hurtful than actually concerned about discourse.