Meghan McCain Nails It, Almost
The daughter of Senator John McCain hates it when people hate things to further their political goals. That pretty much explains 99 percent of the voters out there. Only the people in power love to spread hate around, because they know how effective it is to obfuscate the real message. Hate sells and sex sells. (Selling "hate sex?" Hello, trillion dollar mansion.)
Meghan McCain properly blasts extremism, fear, and all the outlets that facilitate it. Likewise, President Obama hinted toward this need for civility during his commencement speech to University of Michigan graduates. But while Barack and Blogette may not see eye-to-eye on a wellspring of issues, McCain's yin and Obama's yang do represent a similar yet struggling movement to push through bullshit and start a real conversation.
And I think they are having it, somewhat. A few of us may be involved in it too.
But the underlying issue remains the raging extremism. It's the cockroach that won't die. It's King Einon in Dragonheart. It'll remain perpetually alive so long as well-intentioned voters succumb to their trance of buzz words, trap questions, and red herrings.
This is the goal. But how do we get there? We can't/shouldn't censor these demagogues. Calling them names or stooping to their name-calling, broad-brushing level is also exactly what they want. (Conflict = ratings.) Ignoring them is another possibility — and so far, it's done wonders for my sanity. Or simply fact check the hell out of them. This is where sites like Politifact enter the discussion. Media Matters and NewsBusters are also apt tools, but they can occasionally be equally extremist.
It's not an easy goal, nor one that I'm sure many people are jumping at the opportunity to accomplish. But it's gonna be done by some of us.
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