The practical side of life…as compared to the emotional side of life

The only surprise at all since the November 2006 congressional elections has been the eruption of vitriolic written and public behavior of a small portion of our population. I just had not known or imagined how suppressed this group must have felt. Politicians lying and misrepresenting I understood. Even during the times when I despised Clinton and what he was to doing to our Country I always used decorum and fair debate as guideposts. That was the American way, at least to me. Now, as a member of the “chattering class”, I take the time to say to my fellow chatterers that the practical side of life still does predominate in our Country.

Most citizens are just too busy in life; business, family, and such things to care, or know, about day-to-day politics and its affect on them. Most are middle of the road types that just want to get on with things. In the case of Iraq, most understand war as way to preserve our way of life, but also have no patience for the old prosecution of this war if it keeps us in Iraq forever. At home populist issues that affect jobs and families predominate what I hear in Tennessee and North Carolina and Georgia. Most care less about what foreigners think, in general. This includes immigration. In sum, what I hear and read and sense is that most Americans are middle of the road types in life, and at times of voting. Our government seems to represent all this. So maybe the voters are in charge.

Like I suspect about many other chatterers, I both have the time to read, and do so. But I try to keep in mind that, like my small vitriolic group aforementioned, I may also be part of another small portion of our population. The difference between we chatterers and them is one of being practical vs. emotional, and in using decorum and fair debate to advance ideas of our Country’s future.

Does anyone even listen? I mean beside fellow chatterers? The answer is yes. The professional pundits and media writers out of D.C. and other such centers of influence have to mine most of their ideas from somewhere, besides each other, which is the old way of things. And almost all care about our Country, one way or the other. They are practical as compared to emotional. And so are most of Americans, if they can be reached in their busy schedules.

The craziness that seems to be erupting politically is just that, crazy. It reflects both a small portion of our population, and the mainstream media that seems to report it without the most basic investigative work. Even the journalistic ideas of emotional reporting vs. facts reporting will sink naturally as people turn away and journalists lose jobs. After all, it is about our Country, not them and their politics and jobs. As part of terminating journalists jobs by poor ratings on their part, I have voted with my feet. I encourage others to do the same. Vote with your feet for those journalists who do facts and real investigative reporting. By the way, I think this is on auto-pilot as young people grow and reject the baby boomer generation idealistic nonsense for more practical values that will allow them to have a way of life that they support.

As a tolerant American who seeks to both listen and try convert the vitriolic side of my fellow citizens, I have made my peace. They don’t deserve the time of day. Some are just anarchists, some are spoiled anti-Americans and anti-Western value types, most probably don’t have families with kids, and whatever, I have bigger fish to fry. This sub-element of society is a normal and pervasive part of humanity. I choose to be American practical, not emotional. And I only have one political vote, which I appreciate as a citizen.