I learned a lot from your comments on the story about the Wolf billboard. I learned what a "birther" is. I learned there are members of both the "left" and the "right" who read what I write. I learned you guys like to argue and the greater the polar difference, the more entertaining can be the argument. I was humbled by your responses and astonished by your civility. And, yes, civility can be very entertaining. It's easy to criticize the messenger. But, it's a heck of a lot easier to criticize the message if you ignore or twist the facts to suit your point of view. Rarely, however, these days will you get away with that tactic.
Some of you may know during the Bush/Cheney years, I waged what sometimes felt like a one-man campaign to wake up our citizens to some of the things I saw that were lowering the standards of our expectations of both our public servants and our government. Most assumed I was a flaming liberal by my views. One time, a man from Texas responded to a letter I wrote in The Vail Daily thanking me for my viewpoint. Another time, someone else said I should get over the election loss and move on. Once, I actually found myself agreeing with the former president's position as he laid it out on immigration. But, he was quickly silenced by his own party. I was impressed with how well thought out his view was and figured the former governor of a border state ought to have a pretty good feel for the topic and its impact on the citizens of his state. Being the president at the time should also have given him a broader perspective on the problem we face as a nation. But, like I said, he was silenced by his own party.
It may help some of you to learn that I am classically Eastern, politically. That is, socially liberal, to a point, and fiscally conservative on all points. Nevertheless, I understand when deficit spending becomes necessary, and when it isn't. I am grateful for the education I've been given out here in the self-sufficient West. A long time ago, when I was in college, one of the networks conducted a test on a special they aired. It was called, "Testing: Left, Right or Center." The show was seen by millions of viewers from all walks of life... Americans, just like you and me. We were given a series of questions to answer and the scores were tallied at the end of the show. Your score determined where you were on the political spectrum. I shocked myself by learning I had tested just to the right of center. Why shock? I was a college kid at NYU at the time, dead set against the war and its machine. I still don't like war. But, I understand when it's necessary.
I want to thank all of you, my readers, for sharing your views and keeping me honest and always pushing me to strive toward a higher standard. We all have a point of view. I think, regarding that Wolf billboard article, you probably know where I come out. Nevertheless, I respect the rednecks right along with the bleeding hearts. Why? Because, here in this country we can express our opinions right along side our journalism.
My wife and I are about to embark on a great adventure. We are traveling to China to bring home our newly adopted toddler son. My wife works for a bookseller here in town. They told us not to put that on the visa application. It would be questioned. OK, so she's going to be a full-time mom and homemaker, anyway when we get home. It's no lie. But, you see what I mean...
A while back, someone commented that I couldn't know too much with my new journalism degree and all. But, I don't have a new journalism degree. I have a very old degree in politics. Not political science. Politics. And, I've been around a while. I don't always get things right. But, there's sense, and then there's common sense. The one comes from the other and I try to use both of them after a certain order. You see, in order to exercise common sense, you have to use the sense God gave you, or more accurately, the senses to learn what's going on around you. Then you have to take all that input and filter it through something called discernment, the rarest of gifts. Discernment is judgement without being judgemental. It's hard. But, it does lead to a civil discussion about things. And, truthfully, that's what I hope for all of us. That we can agree and disagree with civility. If we can get back on that track, we will be well on our way toward Christmas.
Best wishes to all and Happy Thanksgiving! Thank you all for reading me. Thank you for your agreement and your disagreements. Let's keep the ball rolling... - g
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