Partisanship happens when you care more about your party than an open and honest dialogue.
I recently had an online conversation with a friend about my disdain for partisan politics. This very good man with good values is a conservative Republican, and we have engaged in numerous political conversations since getting back in touch over Facebook and Twitter over the last few months. Throughout many of those conversations, though, he would often make a comment indicating that the true Democratic agenda was merely a power-grab. I was offended by this, and decided to tell him so while explaining why I don’t like the current political rhetoric, and I believe partisan politics is the real enemy of political advancement. Below is most of the letter I wrote to him:
I’m glad to call you a friend, and I really enjoy our political discussions. We have many ideological disagreements, and I enjoy discussing them with you. But there is one aspect that I don’t enjoy, and I feel I have to let you know in the hope that you might be more sensitive about it in the future, at least with me.
In most of the conversations we’ve had, you have made a statement that greatly offends me. At some point, you make a broad generalization that all Democrats want is power. Either that, or you might make some other sweeping derogatory comment about Democrats as a whole. I find this very offensive for a number of reasons.
1) I am a Democrat. Many members of my family are Democrats. Many of my friends are Democrats. My Great-Uncle was DNC Chairman in the late 1970s. My Dem roots run deep. I attend Dem rallies, campaign for various Dem candidates, and I’m friends with some actual Democratic politicians. So when you make such insulting statements, you ARE speaking of me, my friends, and my family. You often say or imply that I am not a typical Democrat. I have to disagree. I am not that unusual. Although I could be wrong, I think it’s safe to say that I know personally more Dems than you do. Most are wonderful people who want to do good in the world. Most are actually selfless people who don’t mind paying taxes to help those less fortunate. Most truly believe in justice and equality, and they work to promote it. Many of us are practicing Christians who live by Christian values. I know this because I know those people. I am one of those people. I feel a kinship with them, and I feel comfortable with them.
2) Your statements seem to imply that such people do not exist in plenty of other areas of life or that they are somehow more prominent among Democrats. Such statements simply are not true. If you want to talk about people just power grabs, I could make a great case for people such as Dick Cheney, Karl Rove, Rush Limbaugh, Mitt Romney, and plenty others. *BUT* the difference is that I know that my perception of them doesn’t apply to the party as a whole. The Republican Party as a whole (and many in leadership) consist of good, honest people who are trying to make this country a better place. I may disagree with their ideology, but I admire their character. And their character is not that different than those of most Dems. People looking for a power-grab exist across all powerful demographics. Similar cases could be made for various church leaders, CEOs, and people in any other career of power. The power-hungry are there, but that doesn’t mean the whole is corrupt.
3) This is what I mean when I say I hate partisanship. It turns good people against each other, not because of the issues, but because of a partisan label. Partisanship is why it’s rare for liberals and conservatives to be able to engage in meaningful conversation about different ideologies: one or the other eventually turns to the “other side is inherently bad” argument, which only insults and for which there is no rebuttal, regardless of accuracy. This is why I don’t like talk radio that attempts to paint us all Red or Blue and assume what that means. I actually used to listen to Air America Radio when it first started, hoping it would provide a fresh voice for liberals like me. I soon stopped listening because they didn’t fulfill that promise. Although I may have agreed with much of their ideology, they were attempting to do to conservatives what Hannity, Savage, Limbaugh, et al. had been doing to liberals. I was just as offended by it and stopped listening. (My own untested theory about the immanent failure of AAR is that liberals as a whole have less of a stomach for that kind of thing than conservatives and stopped listening as I did, but that’s just my guess.)
So if we continue to have these political discussions, and I hope we do, I hope we can stick to our very real ideological differences, rather than broadly insulting the other side. I hope we can respect that there is power-lust and corruption on both sides. It’s a problem of Humanity, not a problem of Democrats or Republicans. I hope we can respect that the other side has formed their opinions and perspectives deliberately and thoughtfully, not carelessly, and we can respect those perspectives as such, even when we disagree with their conclusions.
Again, I’m glad to call you a friend and a brother in Christ. I appreciate your thoughtfulness and consideration. I hope I am not asking too much. I don’t think I am.
Thank you,
Jason
My primary point was that while you may disagree with the stance of Democrats (or Republicans, for that matter) on the issues and on ideology, to accuse us of manipulating the electorate for purely political gain does nothing to further the discussions that must take place. We must agree that such behavior occurs across the entire political spectrum in equal share and leave such accusations there. Only then may we be able to engage in an apolitical discussion of the issues at hand without resorting to the harmful rhetoric of partisan hacks. Leave that to the talk radio and 24-hour news people who have airtime to fill and ratings to grab.
So the next time you get into an ideological discussion with someone you know has vastly different views from your own, please don’t resort to mere insults and broad generalizations. Assume that they have thought through the issues as thoroughly as you (if not more-so) even if they have not. Engage in the conversation with the same level of respect that you believe that you deserve. Be well-informed. Stick to the facts and foundational elements of the issues, and admit it when you don’t know the facts or need to learn more about them. If you find yourself mentioning Hitler, Nazis, or saying things like “All they want is…,” then you know you’ve entered partisan territory. It’s a nasty place. It’s a dirty place. And the sooner you get out of that place, the better.
The Ambitious Paradox 