What Happened to Civil Politics?

I'm a huge fan of talk radio and thankfully I have access to local and syndicated liberal and conservative talk shows. I'll be the first to admit I listen to the liberals (or so called "Progressives" )like Randi Rhodes and Laura Flanders as well as the idiots like Janeane Garofalo and Al Franken. I also listen to conservatives like Sean Hannity and Bill O'Reilly as well as local liberal/progressive and conservative hosts and shows.

The biggest difference I notice between conservative and liberal radio is that the conservatives tend to talk about issues - the war in Iraq , troubles with Iran , the illegal immigrant epidemic and so on. Liberals, on the other hand, spend their time on the microphone bashing President Bush and any other conservative or Republican they can think of.

Instead of spending time talking about real problems and what needs to be done they spend their time creating parody radio ads (which I'll admit are amusing) and attacking conservatives personally.

I can remember years ago that politics used to be civil and I've read books about the political climate of America in the 150 years. Believe it or not, politicians could disagree on the issues before them based on their political beliefs, get the job done and then have a polite and even friendly dinner with each other.

Politicking was reserved for the Oval Office, the floor of the House and Senate and every other place that our elected representatives got together to discuss issues facing the nation and their individual constituents.

During the early years the papers played a critical role in politics. Opinion and editorial (Op/Ed) writers as well as political cartoonists had fun with a particular politician's decisions (and occasional caricature of the politician) but in the end none of it was overly abrasive and they did not necessarily attack the character of the politician except for a few cases for both liberals and conservatives when the politician really deserved it.

What happened to those days? What happened to the days when two senators, one a Republican and one a Democrat, could debate a law on the floor of the Senate and then, at the end of the day, have a good meal and a good laugh together? It was the advent of politically slanted radio.

Now don't get me wrong - I support freedom of speech which gives anyone the right to sit down in front of a microphone and share his or her opinion. What I personally dislike is whining, sniveling idiots that think they've somehow been wronged by the opposite political party and spend their time complaining about specific people and impugning their character.

I am a firm believer in a simple concept: if you are going to complain about something you had better be prepared to offer a solution. Take this very article. I'm complaining about the total lack of respect most often demonstrated by liberal radio hosts and later on in this very same article I will offer a solution.

To simply complain for the sake of complaining drives me absolutely batty. It serves no purpose other than to inflame those listening.

Many people, though, take it to the next level - not content with simple complaining they've taken to attacking the character of the people they complain about. Don't believe me? Just spend 15 minutes listening to some of the crap that comes out of the mouths of those hosting Air America Radio shows. All complaining, all attacking, no solutions.

I find it interesting that the complainers and attackers all seem to be affiliated with the liberals or progressives. I'm not sure why that is; perhaps they're disenfranchised because we have a conservative controlled government. Regardless of the reason, liberal talk show hosts seem to spend their time complaining and attacking while conservative talk show hosts spend their time talking about issues and what to do about them.

So.like I mentioned before, here's my solution. Turn off the radio when the whiners come on and let the radio stations know that you've turned them off. Also let the radio stations know that you prefer to listen to hosts that talk about issues, problems and solutions - not just complain about issues and offer no solutions.

And here's my advice to anyone from the man on the street to the man in the big Oval Office wanting to complain about our government or government officials - keep politics where it belongs and keep it civil. Don't become so personally involved that you see someone that doesn't believe in the same principals as you as a mortal enemy. We are all Americans and are all here for the same reason.

What happens when we forget that point and start taking politics personally? I'll give you a hint - it begins with a 'J' and ends with an 'ihad'. It's not that far of a leap - maybe a few degrees or few years - from someone so personally against the beliefs of another that they'll do anything to impugn his or her character making the jump to physically attacking the other person.

It's tough, I know, to keep your political opinions superficial and not let politics eat away at you personally. The key is to remember that our country has been made great by those with opposing political views. Opposing political views were in fact what prompted the settlement of America and our battle for independence. We must learn to keep politics superficial and treat each other with respect no matter what our personal views are.

That, my friends, is the key to keeping America on the right path.