I have a reasonably high IQ (155). I'm not an elitist and often learn from people I read about or that I talk with that I know have an IQ lower than mine. Having a high IQ doesn't make a person better than anyone else. It does allow a person to make evaluations and judgements that are clearer (although a person with a lower IQ has no way to know when they're wrong) and of course, the guy that has the higher IQ isn't always right. Sometimes the other guy is right.
Now that's out of the way, I have noticed that lately I am having to almost laugh in silence, for being told by people that have a lower IQ than me, that I am feable, stupid, uninformed, etc, etc, etc. I'm told this because I don't agree with them.
I have been told twice this week that I was a "kool aid" drinker and that I didn't have my facts straight.
Consider that I read all the time (not just in election years) and that I read from different sources (not just those that I agree with all the time)(and I don't even have Fox News on my satellite television line-up). So I get my news from various sources, and the another guy gets his from NPR; and somehow he's right and I'm wrong.
And although I read all the time and am keeping in touch with what's going on even when it's not an election year; whereas another guy has only started reading about these issues in the last six months, he's somehow more informed than me and that I'm a product of the right-wing conspiracy propaganda machine.
Wow!
And for the record, once again, although this guy doesn't know it (yet), he was wrong and I was right. I looked up our disputed facts from a number of sources. So it seems that he's been drinking the "kool aid" and didn't even realize it. He'll never admit it though, and that's my concern.
No matter how this election plays out, citizens are increasingly choosing sides for more than just who they'll vote for or what they're voting for. Now people are choosing sides; and the other side is the enemy.
When I was growing up, I often heard the phrase, "I might not believe what you believe, but I will fight for your right to say what you believe". Well, I haven't heard that phrase since the late 1980s. No one seems to care about freedom of speech and thought, unless of course, it agrees with their own.
My personal opinion is that no matter which party gets in office, the country will survive. We've survived over 200 years and I think we can survive 4 years of Obama or of McCain. What I think dooms us more than 4 (or even 8) years of either of these choices, is that political thought has become so divisive and the hatred grows. It is an uncomfortable feeling to be in a room with people that you like, but that you disagree with politically.
I do have to laugh about being told that I'm a kool aid drinker. The truth is, I've known I was smart most of my life, but since I wasn't a part of the "in-crowd" or otherwise popular kids, I was told that I wasn't as good as the others. It has been this way most of my life so I don't really let that bother me. I was shocked, however, to be attacked personally by someone that is supposed to be a friend of mine.
Since when did a personal view on whether or not we pay this tax rate or that tax rate, suddenly make a friend turn against a friend? (I'm paying 40% in tax now and don't really want to pay any more; if anything, I should be the one getting angry, not the other guy).
What has made people so divided that they hate their friends and hate their own family?
I know the answer. I'm just venting out of frustration, because I have no one to talk to about this. The truth is, people are frustrated (on the left and on the right). They feel that their government (who is supposed to be working for them) has abandoned them instead; and that when questioned about it, lies to them. So people are frustrated and they have an emotional attachment to their own political views. At this point, facts don't mean anything. A fact that doesn't line up with a person's thinking is going to just anger them and make them hate the other side even more. And there are loads of opinions published on the internet (in the form of blogs) that will line up exactly with their political viewpoints, and feed them whatever facts they want to hear, even if it's a lie.
So I look at this and feel that this is what is going to be the downfall of the nation. It wont be which party is in charge or which person is elected President of the United States. It will be that people are just so frustrated and at the same time, are letting emotion lead them into a hateful stance against anyone that disagrees with them; and of course, the politicians love this because it leaves them with no accountability. This is better than having a war (an enemy) to fight. Even if the war ends, there's always going to be a war at home to fight; and that will keep people's eyes off the people they're paying to fix our economy, our government, our roads, our bridges, our schools, etc, etc, etc.
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