I can agree with virtually all of that... But, just review what happened in this thread. While I may have started the thread with a controversial tone, the banter that occurred between others is exactly what happens between most people who are passionate about an issue.
I was moreso discussing the public statements of politicians and pundits. How people converse amongst each other regarding their political views wasn't really the subject of my rant.
You calling the woman a slut because of her stance on government provided birth control doesn't bother me. For one, I know the reason why you oppose her argument based on other posts you've made, even if you decided not to expound upon it this time around. But, more importantly, you're not a well known political commentator who influences the general public.
Don't get me wrong...Limbaugh has the freedom to say whatever the hell he wants. I'm not suggesting that he or anyone else requires censorship because of their position in the media. But it's infuriating to me that he and others abuse their persuasive positions to sway the public opinion with irrelevant, derogatory, and meaningless diatribes that aren't necessary.
"Rabble rabble rabble, stupid slut, political stance refuted." So, we shouldn't have government provided birth control because one person is a stupid slut? That doesn't address the issue at all. Yet, people will latch onto these inane statements and will vote based upon them. "Liberals are stupid sinning sluts! We need monogamy and morality!" "Conservatives are women hating misogynists! We need access to medical shit!"
There is no public discourse as to
why her stance is wrong; there's just rampant reporting of her being a slut. And I will admit that most of this is driven by the public itself. If the public weren't interested in this childish shit, then it wouldn't bring in ratings and wouldn't stay around. However, America as a whole is more worried about which bitch The Situation punched on Jersey Shore this week, and thus are more likely to respond when Letterman calls Bristol Palin a whore in the midst of McCain's presidential campaign.
You and I both know that the general population (especially when they are grouped together in political parties with similar ideals) operates like a herd of mindless sheep. It's a combination of the groupthink theory and the fact that the average American is a fucking idiot. The fact that these morons with a public audience have the desire to add fuel to the retard fire is sickening. They're encouraging the public to be ignorant on political issues, and to instead vote based upon exaggerated stereotypes and straw man fallacies that they've perpetuated for their own pecuniary gain.
It quickly goes to extremes, and each assembles seemingly ludicrous straw man arguments against the other. While we tend to keep our disagreements civil in the professional world, politics has always been contentious, and what you have articulated is no different than what has occurred since the beginning of organized government. Think back to the historical accounts of the Roman and Greek empires. While they didn't have modern media to facilitate communication to the masses, they still stood in the town squares accusing their political opponents of sleeping with sheep and goats.
Again, that's why my rant not only indicated that things are getting worse, but is also why it was directed toward modern day pundits and politicians who have the technological soap box. Their reach is greater than it's ever been. So much so that their absurd commentary is becoming the focus of attention.
It's ultimately a combination of factors that have resulted in our society being the way that it is, insofar as the general public being entertained and informed by sheer nonsense, but my main point is that these individuals take advantage of their positions to spew shit that simply has no bearing on the issues at hand. Again, sure, they have freedom of speech, and the public obviously enjoys their shenanigans, but I still don't agree with their abuse of the position they're in.