In a recent LiveScience article entitled "Why Can't We All Just Get Along?", the topic of liberal and conservative differences was highlighted.  There were clearly numerous factors that affected how these two groups interpreted things ranging from the reinforcing influence of biased media outlets to fundamental differences in their perception of morality.

According to some of the polls, the conservatives tend to come off looking the worse for the comparison, but in fairness, the authors acknowledged that at other points in history, the same could be said of liberals.  In short, each group has the opportunity to venture off into fantasyland with their respective beliefs and a particular political orientation is no protection from that.

However, many of these observations will seem obvious to people and yet what seems unusual is not the beliefs these groups hold, but how they have abandoned the notion that their ideas need to be personally examined.  It's as if all internal filters have been turned off with the sole objective being to engage with a perceived "mortal enemy".  

Any reasonable person would consider that they would have emotional and even visceral reactions to various events, but when it comes to critically evaluating how one should behave, a more reasoned approach should follow.  We all have things that make us react angrily and we all have the tendency to over-react at first blush.  When given an opportunity for more careful reflection, such feelings can be toned down and even conflicts with certain ideas can be reconciled as just differences of perception.  In today's climate these differences aren't being viewed as merely perceptual but rather as failings on the part of those that don't feel similarly.

One of the most striking characteristics of this attitude is that dialogue has completely ceased in these conflicted areas.  Not only does each side have a "no tolerance" attitude towards opposing views, in most casees, they actually present a caricature of the opposition in most discussions so that the differences are accentuated and made more absurd.

This tends to reinforce the base and gives rise to the second level phenomenon of where each group feels persecuted for their beliefs.  Name-calling and threats have taken the place of discourse.  People think nothing of accusing the opposition of the most radical acts for no better reason than to bolster their own position.  

It would take a complete moron to truly believe that half the population supports terrorism, or that they hate their country, or that they're trying to destroy their country.  Yet, these comments are routinely made in an effort to make political points.

Disagreement is not a crime.  We don't have to react like a maddened bull to a waving red cape.  We're supposed to be human beings with sufficient mental capacity to use our brains instead of being prodded along like an amoeba.  It's time that people dropped the adjectives of liberal or conservative and begin to converse as citizens.  Let the media and the pundits talk to themselves rather than allowing them to become rich by stirring up a fight that neither side really wants.

whether either side realizes it or not, the fears they express about totalitarianism or socialism, or any other "ism" pales in comparison to what their efforts are bringing forth; the tyranny of the majority.  This originates when people are so wrapped up in their own worldview that they don't even realize how restrictive and totalitarian their views are when they are enforced on others.  The usual argument that comes back is the issue of taxation, but that already has a long history and has little basis for the huge differences in philosophy between the two groups.  In fact, one of the silliest arguments that occurs today is that anyone can believe that there's something like a "tax and spend" liberal anymore than that there are financial conservatives.  Even a cursory view of modern politics indicates that neither group has ever done anything to reduce spending or making government smaller.  I won't suggest that I have the answers, but assuredly if we don't focus on the political causes of our problems and insist only on name-calling against our neighbors, then whatever problems exist will continue to do so no matter how loud we shout.