Since that passage of the health care bill, a few weeks ago, the internet blog-sphere has been ablaze with commentary from every conceivable angle fired directly at it. Granted, I have been reading it all (who has the time) but of the selections I have been reading I’m beginning to notice a very disturbing trend.
Most of the conservative commentaries seem to be written with a tone of loss and mourning for America. They see a once great nation being torn apart from within itself and they’re wondering if the nation will survive this drastic government take-over of 1/6 of the private section. I must admit, I wonder this myself.
The liberal commentaries are a stark comparison. I’m not reading about how happy they are that now supposedly millions of uninsured Americans will get coverage, or even celebratory speeches about how this truly is the best course of action for America. I’m reading nothing like this. Instead, what I’ve been reading is hated for the conservative movement and excitement that they “lost” this particular battle. I’ve read more than a dozen comments that contain the phrase, “… and now its pay back time…” directed within the context of the past eight years when GW2 was in office. These same people also vehemently attack commenters with everything from threats to name calling who would dare to question health care.
Is this really the best liberals have to offer? I know I’m generalizing somewhat with this assumption, but I’m not seeing given a whole lot of a counter perspective to take into account.
If you’re a liberal, and you believe that the passage of this health care reform is a good step for the country that you live in, I can respect that. I can’t say I agree with the process, but I certainly respect you for wanting to something come to life that in your opinion would make America better and stronger.
But I’m not seeing this. So far all I’ve heard is the battle cry “We won, You lost” — and this attitude is almost most toxic for America then the health care bill.
I still have hope though! According to the lastest CBS poll (a notoriously liberal new agency) only 32% (!!) of Americas approve of this health care bill. If the American people refuse to go quietly into the night, I can only imagine the hateful speech that will spew forth once this thing starts being attacked by the majority.
April 5, 2010 at 11:47 pm
I suppose you could eliminate the “conservative/liberal” dichotomy you have going and consider it from a standpoint of human nature – hating the oppressor and loving the oppressed are not the same thing, but people always confuse the two (I’m not calling conservatives “oppressors,” but it fits so long as liberals think they are). People do this all the time – I can be pro-Palestinian by hating Israel, help the poor by hating the rich, etc. And in a big, pitched battle like this one, the victims end up playing second fiddle to beating down the oppressors, over and over again (i.e., radical groups and certain Arab states will lob missiles at Israel, so long as the backlash is taken by the Palestinians; people will tax the rich silly and forget about the poor).
Kinda depressing.