Divisions

This is from Kathleen Parker of the Chicago Tribune (I think, the article was published at Townhall.com).

She comments, "There seems to be little sense of a middle ground these days. It's an either-or world, a condition that may be blamed in part on President Bush's "you're either with us or against us" mantra following the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.

If you write in support of Bush policies, such as the war on Iraq, for example, those who disagree infer that you're either on the Haliburton payroll or jockeying for a job with the Bush administration.

I assume that those who write against the war get similar mail suggesting that they're either Clinton apologists, or communists, or teen-raping, pot-smoking, baby-aborting Hollywood agitators. What were once differences of opinion among gentlefolk have become vast ideological divides between fanatics and zealots."

I've noticed this as well. The concept of respectfully disagreeing seems to have gone by the wayside, and now politics is a war in which there can be no comprimise except for victory. I believe that most Conservatives and most Liberals love their country and want to make it better, but this is not a popular view these days.