In a speech given at the spring commencement at the University of Michigan on Saturday, President Barack Obama had a few remarks that I felt were worth mentioning here.
Speaking about the current state of the political discourse in our nation, Obama noted:
But we can’t expect to solve our problems if all we do is tear each other down. You can disagree with a certain policy without demonizing the person who espouses it. You can question somebody’s views and their judgment without questioning their motives or their patriotism. Throwing around phrases like “socialists” and “Soviet-style takeover” and “fascist” and “right-wing nut” — that may grab headlines, but it also has the effect of comparing our government, our political opponents, to authoritarian, even murderous regimes.
I’ll be the first to admit I’ve crossed the line from time to time throughout the two years I’ve been blogging, but I’ve tried really hard to present my own thoughts on stories making news without resorting to “bomb throwing,” and one thing I’ve come to appreciate about those of you who frequently comment on Blogging Blue is the fact that by and large there isn’t much “bomb throwing” going on; we often engage in heated, passionate discussions here, but seldom have I ever had to step in and warn someone that they’ve gone too far. The whole reason behind this blog was always to foster a healthy debate, because our democracy is all about a vigorous debate between individuals who are passionate about what they believe in.
I’m always amazed that on this blog, and most of us lefty bloggers, (not singling out, I only read a couple conservative blogs, but they are civil too. probably why I read them) how civil and intelligent the comments usually are. Compare that with any newspaper’s comment thread, which seem to be where the dumbest people on the internet hang out.
Yeah, there’s not much rational debate going on over at the Journal Sentinel.
It’s really disturbing how many people actually think President Obama wasn’t born in the country or who actually think the health law nationalizes the health industry. I think it’s important to call out all ridiculous claims like that. I didn’t like the attacks on Senator McCain’s age or the attacks saying he “hates seniors” either for example.
I admit I use phrases like “far-right zealot” sometimes, but I try to direct the comments to particular movements or parties rather than generalizing or attacking people.