Oil and Water: Can They Ever Mix?

[mwb970]

Did you see this excerpt from the emetic Fox and Friends show where one of the hosts stomps off in disgust? It's pretty hard to watch, but I stuck with it to see his exit. The woman is extremely annoying, and Douchey or whatever he's called is almost as bad.

The most horrifying thing about this is that you just know that there are thousands upon thousands of people who watch this entire show every morning and just mindlessly eat it all up.

It's kind of fascinating (if sad) - the very same TV program that makes me sick to my stomach is other people's favorite show. The same creationist museum that I find grotesque and appalling is a marvelous, life-enhancing place for others. The same myths that seem so silly and absurd to me form the basis for others' lives. The same politicians that strike me as evil criminals are compared by others to great heroes and statesmen. The same war that seems so obviously wrong and unworthy to me is hailed and celebrated by others who view its early termination, desired by me, as dangerous and unpatriotic.

I could go on. I see success in Bill Clinton's presidency, others see failure. I think that some control should be exerted over guns, others feel that arming everyone is the only path to safety. On and on. Etc., etc., etc.

Here's the thing that gets me. All of the examples of this phenomenon place me (among others) on one side of the issue and Republicans and conservatives on the other. Over and over and over, when I hear someone say something that strikes me as "wrong", it turns out to be a right-winger. Over and over and over, when I listen to a right-winger speak, most of what he says strikes me as "wrong" in some way.

After many years of this, I have internalized the idea that conservatives and right-wingers are "wrong about everything". I rarely see anything in the news that disproves this idea. I know that many people agree with me on all of the points I made above and also consider right-wingers "wrong about everything". Naturally, the right-wingers themselves consider us to be wrong about everything. (Just listen to any of their TV or radio programs, including Fox and Friends, to find out just how wrong we are!)

So my question is, are there in fact (sorry, John) two Americas? How can a unified nation emerge from the polarization between the right-wingers and the rest of us? Obama says he will bring people together, but isn't that like promising to make oil and water mix this time, by golly? I just don't see how these two opposites can ever be reconciled, especially since the right-wing idea of compromise is "do it our way". Must America ultimately split?