Posted on 03/03/2012 5:59:02 AM PST by Kaslin
“We are not the same. I equate Republicans’ political views with thoughtlessness, intolerance and narcissism. They’re neither kind nor empathetic.” The preceding words are a direct quote, written by Diana Wagman, a novelist, in an Op-Ed piece she penned for the Los Angeles Times, on February 21, 2012. Ms. Wagman, who describes herself and her husband as, “…both bleeding heart liberals”, related her tale of an inadvertent discovery of the political views of the couple who own a vacation cabin across the street from the Wagman’s own spread, in the Sierra Nevada, just outside of Fresno, California. Ms. Wagman described her shock when, after an evening spent playing poker and sipping scotch, she found, to her horror, that the aforementioned couple across the street were conservative-Tea Partying Republicans. Your humble Townhall correspondent assumed that the rest of this piece would become a rather commonplace “can’t judge a book by its cover”, missive, but at that point it spun off in exactly the opposite direction.
Ms. Wagman informed her readers that her across-the-street acquaintances were the perfect neighbors. They were pleasant, helpful, and friendly. As Ms. Wagman put it, “They are a lovely family: husband, wife, and four smart, funny, polite children. I was sure they were Democrats.” They were also an interracial family, with an African-American mother and a White father.
The trouble began when the Wagmans invited their new friends in for a final drink after the annual Camp Sierra Association poker game. The friends announced that they were members of the Tea Party, and for good measure, they added that the Tea Party was not racist because, they, an interracial couple, had been eagerly welcomed and accepted by their Tea Party compatriots. In Wagman’s own words, “…I was shouting, his wife was trying to calm him down, my husband was trying to calm me down, and our other friends-all Democrats- were trying to keep everybody from breaking the furniture.”
Ms. Wagman goes on to describe the downward spiral of the evening. She states that they argued about healthcare, welfare, Obama’s religion and citizenship, and the war on terror. Things soon descended to name-calling; “He called me a spoiled idiot and worse. I called him selfish, shortsighted and worse. It was awful, and it went on until after 3 AM.”
It is sad when friends sometimes fall out over politics, but it does happen. Thomas Sowell may have been correct in the late 1980s when he argued that political bickering masked deep divisions of a cultural and sociological nature, and that these divisions could never really be bridged. Be that as it may, in this particular case apologies were proffered, but not really accepted. “The next morning, they knocked on our door and we apologized to each other and laughed sheepishly…But my feelings about them are changed. I cannot respect them as I did before…I don’t want to be friends with someone who is a member of the Tea Party, or is a Newt Gingrich Republican. We are not the same. I equate their political views with thoughtlessness, intolerance and narcissism. I think they are neither kind nor empathetic.”
Ms. Wagman goes on to express her wish for conservatives: “If only they would all go live in Gingrich’s moon colony.” She then rattles off a listing of her certified liberal views and argues that they “…seem so logical to me…these are no-brainers to me, and it kills me that my neighbor disagrees.” She idly wonders if any number of bitter misfortunes, such as having a son killed in Afghanistan, a daughter turning up pregnant, or a sister announcing that she was a lesbian would change her neighbor’s opinions. She finishes her article by stating, “Next time I drive to our cabin, I’m going to make sure I take everything I could possibly need. I don’t want to ask my neighbors for help. I hope it’s their weekend to stay home.”
Let us hope that Ms. Wagman is speaking for herself, and does not represent the views and attitudes of the modern American liberal. It seems quite bigoted, small-minded and petulant to argue that simply discovering that the neighbors are anti-Obama Tea Partiers precludes the possibility of friendship, or even cordiality between their respective families. This is pretty incendiary stuff. Whatever became of the Hubert Humphrey School of “Happy Warrior” type liberalism?
The material point in this column is quite simple. Diana Wagman is likely the type of liberal who bemoans the polarized nature of our politics, the divisive state of our culture, and the vanishing of civility from our public discourse. Yet, in her Op-Ed piece she freely admits that she is a liberal and that she essentially hates Republicans because they are conservatives. Certainly Ms. Wagman would argue that Rush Limbaugh should be censored, that Ann Coulter is a national disgrace, and that George W. Bush was the worst President in American history. She does not consider these views over the top. On the contrary “they seem so logical” to her. (Perhaps these attitudes represent the worldview of regular readers of the Los Angeles Times.) It goes without saying that she considers hating conservatives to be quite logical, too. If Ms. Wagman really wants to pin the “polarizing” and “divisive” tails on the political donkey she can start with herself.
That's an excellent summary!
A good assessment. Most liberals lie like they were born to it.
Once I find out someone is a Democrat, liberal, progressive - whatever they call themselves, I immediately stop talking to them. It is a waste of valuable time.
I’ve certainly seen this happen, but I wish to report that I’ve become warm friends with a rather liberal couple in my town. I get together weekly with the husband and play guitar every week. The wife is quite a bit more liberal. We all met at a “summer jazz camp” event held at the local middle school. We obviously have more than just politics to talk about, eg; music. So maybe that is an element. I don’t sense that they are specifically hostile to Conservative ideas, but I suspect they really have not been exposed to them.
I am not intimidated about expressing my views, but I do not shotgun them and I don’t broaden them out to include “everything”. She: thought the CA high-speed rail project would be “a nice thing to have for when I need to go to Sacramento”. Me: “I take a conservative view on these giant projects. The cost estimates are in general one third of the ending cost, and vast amounts of the money are siphoned off in all manner of ways that can’t be traced. Look at he Bay Bridge project, the thing is something like SIX TIMES over budget. In addition, the number of passenger rail lines in the ENTIRE WORLD that make money (or simply break even) without continuing taxpayer subsidy you can count on two hands.”
And then I shut up, I don’t broaden out nor generalize “all liberals....”
It works.
PPS Please ping me to the thread when you do.
Lying is learned behavior, and it is what they do best.
That is why I call them “LIEberals.”
Will do.
I’m incapable of making liberal friends today. I see all liberals as either stupid, delusional, insane, or evil.
I see all liberals as destructive of my freedom and destructive or our Constitutional republic, whatever the reason.
I know a liberal who was a close friend from the 5th grade onward. We are now in our mid 50s. The relationship was severely strained through the Clinton administration and with Obama, I don’t really consider him a friend anymore.
He and his wife are flaming liberals and are incapable of listening to a single argument against the entire liberal agenda. The know global warming will burn up the planet. They know dams must be destroyed and coal plants must be closed down. They know that every species must be saved no matter the cost. They hate corporations and bad mouth the military. They are anti-religion. I can go right down the line.
They are both extremely intelligent but they have liberal shielding that makes it impossible to receive any information contrary to their preconceived opinions and are an echo chamber as are most liberal couples.
He used to be my best friend but I can’t help knowing his votes for Clinton and Obama and Boxer and Feinstein are contributing to the destruction of America, our freedom, and our rights. How do I maintain a friendship with traitors to my country?
They aren’t stupid. They are smarter than I.
They are not evil. They are compassionate and want the best for people and mother earth, and the sun god and the sky and the whales.
They are not insane. They are rational.
But they are completely delusional with religious faith in their core liberal beliefs, causes, institutions and politicians.
I have no use for them.
And this was my best friend for 25 years before I became a conservative around 1995.
As much as he disgusts me with his delusional support of all things socialist, how could I ever become new friends with a like liberal traitor.
I detest them all. If the nation was becoming more conservative, then I would pity them and tolerate them in their failed delusion. But they are winning the culture war, destroying my freedom, stripping me of my rights, and shoving the nation into hard socialism.
I have no love and no use and no tolerance for such people, and I really don’t give a damn the reason for their actions, be it evil, stupidity, insanity or delusion.
They are all equal in promoting a hard socialists outcome and creating a future of oppression for generations of coming Americans. I don’t care how innocent they are or well intended. Traitors and scumbags all.
I have heard that it is possible for a conservative republican to be friends with a liberal democrat.
It is no longer possible. In most cases, once the leftist even suspects the other person is a conservative, the hate becomes manifest. I left Minnesota because of that. Most notable up there is the hate directed toward Texas. “Bush is a retard, Bush is from Texas, all Texans are retards.” How’s that for leftist logic.
I prefer to use the term leftist than liberal. The liberals have mostly died off (Scoop Jackson, my having been a former Henry Jackson Democrat) or drank the Kool-Aid to be “socially acceptable.” The left is single-mindedly driven by destruction, hate, and fascistic control (there are no real differences between fascism and Marxism, any differences are superficial shadings).
All liberals are enabling the hard socialists in destroying our constitutional republic.
Therefore, all liberals are traitors.
Therefore, I have no use for liberals.
I have no liberal friends.
I don’t befriend traitors and I’m really not interested in why they are traitors, whether it is misplaced compassion or if it is over-jealous good intentions.
I don’t befriend traitors and I have no liberal friends.
Thanks you.
ACLU member - that says it all. She is to the left of Pelosi.
I don’t want to be friends with someone who is a member of the Tea Party, or is a Newt Gingrich Republican. We are not the same. I equate their political views with thoughtlessness, intolerance and narcissism. I think they are neither kind nor empathetic.”
Yep. They all think this, and they never investigate. In fact, this woman had the proof all that was untrue right in front of her, and she chose to dismiss reality in order to — dare I? — bitterly cling to the mainstream liberal view.
Conservatives are all racists, bigots, and homophobes. No matter what. They are all rich and want to eat the poor.
Never does this b*tch think that perhaps her phony do-gooder policies actually hurt the poor. Never does she think her worship of Obama is racially patronizing. Never does she think that all ethnic and religious groups deserve fairness and compassion, including whites and Christians. Nope, SHE is good and they are bad.
And she says her views are from logic?? They are not. They are the cheapest, easiest, least intelligent views to be had. You get them off the freaking tv. You are mocked if you don’t believe them. It takes no strength to be a liberal and suck down all the pap. It takes courage and strength of character just to EXIST as a conservative in LA.
You crack me up!!
I’ve been told many times that I am “too smart to be a conservative.”
Sheesh, prejudiced much? Some of the smartest people in the world are conservative.
That is my world. Most people I spend time with, family and acquaintances, are liberal. I love being around a fellow conservative. It must be how a closeted gay guy feels finding Santa Monica boulevard for the first time.
There is no way in hell Ronald Reagan would win California office with the current California voting demographic today. Not even dog catcher. No way in hell.
The conservative electorate that elected Reagan governor and elected him president no longer exists, likely never to return. Hispanics will own the CA voting demographic after 2050 for a century or more.
bfl
I am sure her idea of a ‘super cheap’ grocery store is Trader Joe’s which advertises in a way that reinforces the few that people who make it to their store are smarter than anyone else. Their prices tend to be higher than my local Walmart, so I get there once every two weeks or so, mostly to take the kids to get their supplemental homeschooling books at the local Barnes and Nobel.
There is one in a fashionable seaside community that is 25 feet away from a laboratory with walls that are two feet thick and filled with Barium to absorb radiation, permitting certain kinds of unusual experiments. I often chuckle that the clientele of that store would be very offended if they knew what went on a few feet away.
When I lived in Texas, my interracial family was no big deal to the local Republicans. The local Democrats were offended, and tried to get tickets written for our lawn. The local Libertarians (I lived in Ron Paul’s district) wouldn’t serve us when we went to their functions.
>>It would seem that Diana Wagman is afraid of contrasting views.
That is a huge issue in the country right now, perhaps the biggest one in the Left/Right divide we see.
On the Right, we can’t help but see the Left’s views daily due to the dominant media culture. Here at FR, we look at and dissect those views constantly. This causes much ongoing examination of personal beliefs.
On the Left, it is entirely possible to live in a bubble created by the dominant media culture and never have to examine your views, until something enters your bubble, as in this story.
The Fourth Estate is a very, very large part of our problems in our country today.
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