Why does that have to be? I don't know about you, but I don't vote a straight party line all the time. I vote for the -PERSON- the person who I believe best represents my views and values. That person may not be in my party, but I will vote for him or her because I trust them to make honest and honorable decisions. But in today's political climate that doesn't seem good enough.
The political debate has become so heated that moderate thinking and values are almost despised. It is either black or white - grey is not accepted. I think the extremes on both sides are making a mistake. They refuse to listen to those in the middle. When you stop listening you stop learning - you stop thinking.
The fact is there are always at least two sides to an argument, and it doesn't mean that one side is wrong and the other is right. It just means they disagree. But when the extremists criticize those in the middle for not agreeing with them, the extremists are the ones making the mistake - the mistake of not listening to the voices of reason and moderation.
The voices of reason and moderation. Are they going away?
Bill Ratliff
