Why the bitterness? The growing rift between left and right

It has occurred to me that as a somewhat left-of-center person politically, I don't really understand the opposition to universal healthcare. This occurred to me because I was reading Cecily's blog and then a different view -- one opposed to the current healthcare reform bill -- written by the author of a comment at Cecily's blog at her own blog. This writer, Elena, agrees that healthcare is in need of reform, but disagrees about what has to happen to do that (tort reform and interstate competition -- which have been the standard Republican-suggested solutions to the current crisis.) I don't really know how those changes will fix the problems that the uninsured are facing, or that those with pre-existing conditions are facing.

But I digress. What I really want to talk about is the growing heated bitterness between the partisan sides in this debate and other debates recently.  I don't know about why people oppose healthcare reform because I don't watch any of the news programs they watch, I don't read any of the blogs they read, I don't spend time in online communities that discuss their points of view about it. Really, it just annoys me to do so, so I stay away.

It used to be, once upon a time, that I would watch the evening news on one of the three broadcast channels, and it would carry bit-picture stories that sought to explain the different sides of an issue. My neighbors would watch that same show, as would people of different political persuasions. I don't watch those anymore. It used to be that I would regularly read a daily newspaper, delivered to my doorstep, that would offer a broad array of news coverage. As would my neighbors, both Republican and Democrat. I don't read those anymore (with any regularity).

Now I look at my Twitter feed, made up of comments from people who I mostly agree with. And I read news sites like the Huffington Post which lean to the left. (Although I also read the Economist and the Wall Street Journal.)  My online friends who I have selected are other left-leaning folks. I spend more time talking to them than I do talking to the people at my local post office, which I never visit or at the grocery story.

I've created a community of people and news sources that validate the things I believe. And the people who disagree with me have done the same. We each come from a mind-frame that we believe to be absolutely correct and we feel sorry for people who are so limited that they cannot see our truths.

This is maybe the way we've always been -- hanging out with people who agree with us. But the Internet has amplified the effect.  If we talk louder and if we are more adamant in our views, then those other people will understand how wrong they've been all along. Or maybe if we reason with them.

But they are coming from a different truth, and they never get to see ours (like we used to when we all watched the same news program or read the same newspaper) unless we are all fighting. Elena, in her blog, talks about the Catechism and how she interprets its guidance regarding providing healthcare to everyone. That is not something that ever would have occurred to me. It would seem irrelevant to me. But there are things that would absolutely guide me in my interpretation of the merits of healthcare that she would find equally irrelevant to the whole thing, I'm sure.

I'm worried. I'm worried that this chasm between us has grown and will continue to grow.

Comments

[Antropologa]

You're right of course. But other people's opinions are so irritating!

[Kath]

I worry about the same thing -- both sides marinating in their opinions so long that any sort of understanding, or even compromise, becomes ever more unlikely.

And I share your incomprehension regarding what is so bad about universal health care. Almost everyone in Germany (including me) is insured through state-sponsored health care, and the standard of care is high. And no red tape! (At least not for the patients.) Seriously, the few times I was treated in the States were a bureaucratic nightmare, so I wonder why anyone is attached to that system...

[thalia]

What an interesting point of view, thank you. I completely agree, of course, but then we have pre-selected each other. To be honest, I think to the whole world other than america, everyone is a bit bemused about why universal healthcare is seen to be a bad thing. perhaps I have to go and read Elena's blog to find out?

[オテモヤン]

http://oppao.net/n-ona/
http://oppao.net/navi/
http://oppao.net/new-d2/
http://oppao.net/fd3/
http://oppao.net/soap2/
http://oppao.net/bg2/
http://oppao.net/host2/
http://oppao.net/lesson2/
http://oppao.net/op2/
http://oppao.net/fl3/
http://oppao.net/bb2/
http://oppao.net/s-este/
http://oppao.net/rd2/
http://oppao.net/kawa/
http://oppao.net/n-club2/
http://s-auc.net/