Can you "relate your opinion [above] to some sort of factual finding" or is your statement simply based on a feeling? Well, let's try this one: In your opinion, are you evading the inquiry as to what your opinion is based on?
You asked if my opinion was based on a feeling. I answered no. You ask compound open ended questions, and you are the one who was lacking clarity? I wholeheartedly agree with your self assessment.
What was your opinion "We have a large group of people in this country who don't want to hear different points of view, who don't really want to think through issues issue by issue, but rather just want to join in to another form of thought control where some leader can neatly package solutions to all complicated problems with dividing this country into and "us and them" "liberal versus conservative" type of conflict. We have a society who is just looking for someone to blame, and Coulter is a master of the blame game." based on?
OK, let me jump in here. That is so much bullshit. I am starting to a feel you are part of the Ralph Nader crowd now. You know, I use to think like that. Issue by issue. Don't label me as this or that. But then I thought about our two party system in this country and what the differences are. As much as political pundits try to complicate it, play the race card, polarize people around controversial issues, it all comes down to some very simple concepts. In terms of gov't as a whole, do you believe that you should have the right to live your life the way you want with the most amount of freedom and personal choices or do you think the government can do a better job of living your life for you and making those personal choices for you. Yes, it's that simple. Outside of the extreme social issues that get brought into this pot so much for sensationalism, most of the issues can really be divided along those lines. This idea that people are brainwashed into falling along one party line or the other has no merit. You either believe in selling yourself, your life, your ambitions, to Uncle Sam, or you believe the opposite. I hear so many people always complain that they can't see the differences between the parties and I just laugh because they are so far apart it's not even funny. I hear people saying things like they can't make a connection to either party, they feel like no one is looking out for them. Again, these people haven't spent more then 5 minutes actually thinking about this statement or they wouldn't have made it. I think your 40 years plus of observation has led you to believe exactly what you want to believe. The only one here who is brainwashed is yourself. You have created your own reality and have used 40 plus years of selective data to reinforce it.
Your comments are a marvelous example of one who embodies black and white thinking in the political arena. What is black and white thinking? by Mark Sichel, LCSW and Alicia L. Cervini "Always" and "never," polar opposite words, tend to characterize the vocabulary of black and white thinkers. Black and white thinking means seeing the world only in terms of extremes. If things aren't "perfect," then they must be "horrible." If your child isn't "brilliant" then he must be "stupid." If you're not "fascinating" then you must be "boring." Yikes! What a tough way to live! In real-life, situations are almost always shades of gray, not black or white. Falling victim to black and white thinking tends to exacerbate depression, marital conflict, anxiety, and a host of other everyday problems. Give yourself and the ones you love a break and discover the beauty of shades of gray. When small children are learning to use words and organize their thoughts, it is normal and expected for them to see and express their world in very black and white terms. When a young child feels they are not loved, they feel they must be hated. When a child feels his or her parents don't pay enough attention to them, that child will say, "You never pay attention to me." Developmental psychologists call this primitive thinking. Unfortunately, under duress, adults often regress to primitive thinking. Adults are most prone to regressing to primitive thinking when they are having a hard time and feel overwhelmed by their own emotions. A regression, in psychoanalytic parlance, is a backsliding from mature functioning and thinking to immature ways of functioning and thinking. For that one moment, when the adult starts relying on the words "always" or "never," and seeing the world in black and white terms, they are slipping back to the way they saw the world as a child. Here are some examples of people who fell prey to black and white thinking. Listen to the language that they use to express themselves: Charlotte*, a married woman in her forties with a young child, was suffering from what is called dysthymia, or mild depression. She came into my office telling me that she never felt happy any more, that she always felt disappointed with her husband, and that she feared she would never feel good again as long as she lived. She said that she had nothing to look forward to anymore. She reported that she had always been a person who was not easily satisfied and that she only prayed that her daughter would not be like her. As Charlotte realized that her extreme language was making her situation seem worse instead of better, she learned to correct her black and white thinking. Charlotte was able to get a better handle on the events that triggered her chronic reactions of depression. Joseph, an aspiring actor who supported himself as a carpenter, also had a problem with black and white thinking whenever he felt anxious. Despite favorable reviews in several plays and some success being cast in commercials, Joseph reported feeling overwhelming anxiety whenever he had to audition for a role. He always prepared thoroughly for his auditions, and he always became uncontrollably anxious starting a week before the audition. He was never able to do a good job in the audition, he told me, and he felt he would never overcome his anxiety. He felt sure he would always have to support himself as a carpenter. When Joseph realized that black and white thinking can become a self-fulfilling prophecy, he made an effort to see his situation for what it was: a mix of the good and the not-so-good. With his newfound appreciation for shades of gray, Joseph was much happier, less anxious and more successful in his career. When you learn to recognize the spectrum of gray in the difficult experiences you encounter in your life, you will be better equipped to come out on top. Regression is not a foregone conclusion when you feel stressed, angry, overwhelmed, confused, or just plain fed up with another person. You CAN start to recognize when you are giving-in to black and white thinking, and then make the choice to banish those extreme thoughts in favor of healthy living.
I did not use the words always or never. But that little blurb you posted is a great example of taking a glass of water and instead of calling it half full or half empty, you write a 100 page dissertation on water molecules, matter, electrons, empty space, theory of existence, so on and so on. You'll ask yourself questions like what is water really? And can you define glass for me. Are you sure it's exactly half filled? This is very typical of someone who can't make decisions in life because each decision is actually not one, but 10,000 little mini decisions that make up the one big decision. You confuse yourself so much to the point where you just give in and decide it's better to let someone else make that decision for you. This person is called a liberal. Thank you for posting that because it makes my case in point very clear. Don't make life so hard. It's really not. I'm not saying there are no grey areas in this world, there are many of them. But most complicated choices and decisions in life can often be broken down into very simple choices. Remember Occam's Razor? All things constant, the simplest explanation is usually the right one. Simplify your life my friend and you will start being happy. Remember during the Clinton Supreme Court Testimony? They asked him if he had oral sex with that woman? What did he say? He said well, it depends on what you call oral sex. LOL. Case in point. He spent 3 hours trying to define oral sex and sex in general. This was a very simple question and he gave a very complicated answer. Good luck living your very complicated life.