Agree or Disagree?
Ursula Hennessey ·
Mar 8, 2011 at 7:30am
I have seen variations of these two ideas expressed in a number of ways. They are not related, but I wonder what Ricochet members think. I actually waffle (not unusual for me) with both:
1. (Topic: Political leaders) We should care more about people than parties.
2. (Topic: Pet Peeves) That which annoys us most about others is also true about ourselves.
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Comments :
Dec '10
Re: Agree or Disagree?
RE: #2
It has always seemed to me that those who worry most about theft are thieves. Those who see machinations in the actions of others are schemers. They are projecting their habits on others.
Jun '10
Re: Agree or Disagree?
At almost any position below President, voting for the individual, instead of the party, is like voting for the three-legged racehorse "because he has lots of heart." Heart, by itself, doesn't go very far. Politics is the work of coalitions--not individuals. That's why new prison inmates join gangs.
Jan '11
Re: Agree or Disagree?
Soon after Bush's 2004 win, David Brooks was on a C-Span panel discussion. He referred to a study that claimed that America has two ways of doing politics. The split was mostly half and half.
Apparently, it's akin to extrovert-introvert. It's just a personality difference, with no one way being necessarily better.
Feb '11
Re: Agree or Disagree?
As a New Yorker, I used to think about question number 1 every time Al D'Amato was on the ballot. I voted for him every time, not because I thought he was a good person -- I was pretty sure that if I ever had to spend much time with him I wouldn't care much for him -- but because I was voting for someone whose job was to cast votes in the Senate, and he was much more likely to vote the way I would prefer than anyone the Democrats might nominate, no matter how much more likable that Democrat might be as a person.
Aug '10
Re: Agree or Disagree?
Regarding number 1 -- I think that politicians often use variations of that phrase in an attempt to gain political advantage and are usually disingenuous when they do so.
That said, it is a personal mantra of mine -- taken from a line in Aristotle -- that friendship is more important to me than politics. Thanks to the Australian ballot, I am able to vote for politicians who support the causes I believe in. Thanks to the ability to be semi-anonymous on the internet, I can argue heartily for my causes and voice my opinions sternly. Thanks to our Founder's desire to leverage the "cool and deliberate sense of the community," I have faith in our overall system.
I forgive my friend's failings, and I hope they forgive mine.
May '10
Re: Agree or Disagree?
Disagree on both counts.
1. When you align yourself with a political party, you are saying something fundamental about your political beliefs. So even a "conservative" or "Blue Dog" Democrat is willing to be on the side with a party that is Big Government, higher taxes, welfare state, pro-abortion, weak on defense, pro-union, etc. And usually when it comes down to it their votes side with their party leadership.
Because of this, I won't vote for a Democrat even at the lowest local level. I do not want to help them build their party. Period.
2. I am annoyed by lots of things but I have found that they are things that I specifically try not to do myself. For example, people who brag about themselves, and people who put down others. Also, my husband thinks it is hilarious that I am annoyed by my mom so much. She and I are polar opposites in just about every imaginable way.
May '10
Re: Agree or Disagree?
Feb '11
Re: Agree or Disagree?
#2 - Absolutely. Especially when these traits show up in our children.
May '10
Re: Agree or Disagree?
Re #2, I am at my most unreasonable as a parent when I'm railing into my son for recapitulating the bad behaviors that cause me frustration in my own life: aloofness, inattention, and laziness. OTOH, I have no patience at all when I see a sense of entitlement displayed by anyone, friend or foe, because that's a temptation I resist easily, and I expect the same from others.
So, the principle in #2 works in selective cases.
May '10
Re: Agree or Disagree?
Ah, Israel, I didn't see your post until I finished mine. Yes, negotiating the parent-child dynamic is like walking on eggshells caught in a mine-infested vortex.
Jan '11
Re: Agree or Disagree?
I understand this when it comes to general elections. But when it comes to the primaries I will absolutely cast my vote for the politician I find to represent the principles I happen to share. I'll do this even if the my preferred candidate has no chance of winning. Signals have got to be sent to representatives somehow in the political marketplace of ideas. I just wish that more politicians would term-limit themselves or that the party-establishment believed that even incumbents should be primary-challenged darn near every election cycle. I think that competition, while draining ad campaign resources, is a net positive in politicking.
May '10
Re: Agree or Disagree?
Ursula Hennessey:
1. (Topic: Political leaders) We should care more about people than parties.
The identity of any group is defined by the individuals who comprise it. By electing better individual politicians, we can improve the GOP.
A party is merely an alliance of individuals. Supporting an alliance only makes sense while it represents your beliefs. Making sure it does means supporting the best individuals in the alliance and weeding out the worst.
Dec '10
Re: Agree or Disagree?
#2 is one of those general rules that isn't hard, fast and formalized, but it's an intellectual tool that can come in handy when digging into the mind of others.
Aug '10
Re: Agree or Disagree?
1) I agree one can legitimately care more about people than parties-I often vote against certain people.
Edited on Mar 8, 2011 at 4:23pm2)I hate it when other people interrupt me, especially when I'm interrupting them.
Jan '11
Re: Agree or Disagree?
topic 1 Mark Steyn recently changed my opinion so I now care more about the party. A strong party can get the wrong guy to do the right thing. I pray a wobbly party doesn't drag down an apparently strong man like Scott Walker.
topic 2: It is true with me.
Aug '10
Re: Agree or Disagree?
How about when someone like Kirsten Powers realizes that her defense of the stated purpose of Planned Parenthood (one of the Democratic Parties Iconic Members and Gold Standard Emily's List) isn't doing anything about reducing the babykilling with their tropes about contraception ?
The party was wrong to the third power. Kirsten , the smiling liberal that O'Reilly gives facetime to, was the erstwhile target. But we were supposed to care about her as she covered for her confederates. The party is damnably wrong, so they should be the focus.