A little sanity

Let's get the most important thing out of the way first: the other side isn't (generally) evil. They aren't trying to undermine the country, they aren't engaging in giant conspiracies. They simply have different opinions.

Now, at this point, I could be on either side. Because I haven't stated my political leanings yet, some of the people reading this (the ones who aren't otherwise familiar with me) are probably paying attention. The second I declare my orientation, a significant portion will immediately tune me out.

That's not stupid; that's willfully ignorant, which is far worse than stupid. Stupidity can often be overcome with time and effort.

The left and the right both want the same things, generally. They want freedom, happiness, a good education for their children, a chance to have a good job and some possessions. They just vastly disagree on how to get there. Those disagreements don't make the other side evil, or hateful, or anything else. It might on occasion make them wrong.

It's easy to make the mistake of attributing bad intentions. After all, if your intentions are good (and most people view themselves in a positive light) and your opponent disagrees with you, his intentions must be bad, right?

No. That's like saying that because your poker hand is a flush in hearts, and your opponent has all clubs, that they can't have a flush. Two people can try to arrive at the same endpoint by different means.

Pick any topic in the US, or Canada, or the UK, and you'll find two or more groups trying to arrive at the best possible solution. Often they'll use different methods. It's up to you to divorce yourself as much as possible from which side is saying which, and decide what method makes the most sense to you. Then, on that issue, support whatever side is pushing that method.

I'm writing this in the US, and I'll be addressing most of the issues here from an American standpoint. My own viewpoint will become, undoubtedly, readily apparent in the course of writing these posts. I'm simply trying to break down some of the stuff people don't really examine in a way they'll find comprehensible.

And if, along the way, I use a big word or two, go look it up. Use Merriam-Webster online or something (http://www.m-w.com) and then come back. I want to be accessible to everyone, but that doesn't mean I'm going to write at a fifth-grade level.

A COUPLE OF OTHER THINGS:
1) Free money alert: if you run across any of the Sheri S. Tepper Marianne books in your local second-hand bookstore, I'll buy them from you. You can find them, sometimes, in the Science Fiction / Fantasy section. Marianne, The Magus, and the Manticore; Marianne, the Madame, and the Momentary Gods; and Marianne, the Matchbox, and the Malachite Mouse. $8 for the Manticore book, $20 for either of the other two. Or you can just toss them out on ebay. Either way, you make a profit.

2) The name of the blog stems from Alexander Pope. "A little learning is a dangerous thing; drink deep, or taste not the Pierian spring: there shallow draughts intoxicate the brain, and drinking largely sobers us again."
I like the quote for a few reasons. One, people constantly misquote it as "A little knowledge is a dangerous thing." Considering that the idea behind the quote can be summed as "If you don't really know what you're talking about, take the time to learn. Don't just learn a little and think you're an expert," the fact that they're misquoting in the first place underscores the thought behind the quote. Two, I've always liked mythology, and the Pierian spring is a great trivia question: it's where the Muses drank. And if you don't know what the fuck the Muses were, go look it up. See, learning again. It's a good thing.