Winning Friends & Influencing People

The American Spectator certainly knows how to win friends and influence people.

Crocodile Tears
By Christopher Orlet
Published 8/12/2005 12:06:48 AM

Cindy Sheehan has now been squatting in a roadside ditch near President Bush’s Crawford, Texas ranch since August 6. And every day more aging hippies, professional grievance-mongers, and underemployed liberal arts majors show up with their backpacks and banjos to join her. Squatting in ditches, sleeping in pup tents, and sitting around a campfire at night yodeling “This Land Is Your Land” is after all the anti-war protesters idea of nirvana.

I just don’t understand why anyone in either party feels the need to resort to regularly insulting anyone who doesn’t agree with their political views. Politics is the new racism, isn’t it? Just remember the old cliche: You get more flies with honey. Maybe if people on both sides of the fence started treating each other with respect and common courtesy, we might find some middle ground to meet on…but then I suspect there are a number of loud mouth rebel-rousers that don’t want anyone meeting in the middle. What then would they have to rally about? Who would be listening?

tags: Cindy Sheehan, George W. Bush, politics, protestors, mud-slinging

2 comments

1. on August 14, 2005 at 4:21 pm

   Andy Merrett said:

   I just don’t understand why anyone in either party feels the need to resort to regularly insulting anyone who doesn’t agree with their political views.

   You should take a look at British politics. I think a lot of the UK electorate have gotten pretty fed up with the mud-slinging that goes on. When there’s no decent policies to talk about—particularly in the run up to a General Election, or even a local one—the politicians simply throw personal insults or cheap jibes about the other party.

   It helps no-one. It alienates voters; the apathetic slip further into apathy; the thinking voter resigns themselves to not getting answers on fundamental policy issues, or having to do their own research.

   It’s petty. And our political and voting system sucks and needs reform. Yes, it’s a democracy, and that’s good, but it could be so much better.

   (Of course, when a politician dies, everyone is nice about them and says how great they were, blah blah — pity they didn’t act with more respect when they were alive)

2. on August 18, 2005 at 9:30 am

   n. mallory said:

   It helps no-one. It alienates voters; the apathetic slip further into apathy; the thinking voter resigns themselves to not getting answers on fundamental policy issues, or having to do their own research.

   Exactly. Personally, it’s a big turn off to me. Mudslinging always makes me want to vote for the “other guy”.

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