Integrity in the time of Tea Baggers

Yesterday someone told me I had damaged my credibility with this blog.  It came out of the blue, and several questions raced through my mind.  Was it really compromised?  What made him say that?  Who the hell did he think he was?  Hadn't he read any of my previous blogs?  And finally, why do I care?

The truth is, I don't care what this guy thinks.  After all, he's just a "friend" on a social network (one who sought me out, I might add).  And truly, if he was surprised by anything on this blog, then he wasn't reading my old blog very closely.  True, that blog was much more polite, as political ranting wasn't really appropriate for that network, but still.  I am pretty WYSIWYG.  (Too young to know what that means?  Ask your parents).

It did start me thinking, though, because my credibility (ie, integrity) is pretty important to me.  After all, if I don't have that, I don't have anything.  No matter what, if I have honor and ethics and am true to those ideals, then I'll be fine in the end. 

And that's part of the problem with the whole Tea Bagger movement.  They have no honor.  Their leaders -- talking heads like Rush, O'Lie-lly, and Beck bandy such outrageous ideas about, it's hard to even call them liars.  I think maybe Karl Rove is their leader - he's the Emperor and Cheney is his Sith lord.  These people knowingly throw blatant falsehoods out there, and the populace -- too ignorant, tired, or lazy to know better -- laps it up with glee.  Then you get these Baggers who take it to the furthest extreme. 

Let's make a quick checklist, shall we?  Things that damage your credibility:

• Spitting on Congressmen
• Using racial slurs
• Throwing bricks through windows
• Cutting gas lines to people's houses
• Using terms like fascism and socialist improperly
• Thinking Glenn Beck and Sarah Palin have two functioning neurons between them both

Notice how "speaking your thoughts and opinions" isn't on there.  So if someone thinks I'm no longer credible just because I turned out not to agree with him, well, that's his loss.  Clearly he's not capable of intellectual discourse on the subject.  And frankly, I don't care what people like that think. 

I have always held true to my belief in facts, dialogue, and using a good round of devil's advocate to develop my opinions.  I enjoy discussing issues with people on the other side of the fence, because we always end up giving each other food for thought.  Ultimately we both grow and become better people for it.

"Hi, I'm GeekChick, and I have a problem.  I am exceedingly intolerant of people who are closed-minded, bigoted, and intolerant of differing ideas."  Is there a program for that?

Well, as often happens, I lost the bead of where I was going when I started this thought.  In any case, I don't think my credibility is even slightly tarnished.  I have never pretended to be centrist.  Or even polite, for that matter.  I agreed to a certain modicum of politeness and "neutrality" (not truly so) on this other site, but it was always quite clear which side of the fence I was on.  And furthermore, I have always welcomed opposing viewpoints, as long as they are thought out and based on facts.  No mudslinging, no Rovian talking points. 

I know who I am and that I have integrity.  As I've taught my children, the worst thing you can be in this world is a hypocrite.   And if you are surprised to learn that I am a socialist lefty, then you haven't been listening all along.  If you are bothered by that, then go back to Fox and Friends.  I'm sure they'll still take you.

Hope Springs Eternal

Someone once asked me why I was so pessimistic.  I corrected her and noted that I am cynical, which is not the same.  As I like to say, cynicism is a protective cloak used by optimists to keep their hopes from getting (too) dashed. 

And damn if that didn't just get proven.  Silly me, I went and posted something to some Tea Partier friend's Facebook page.....He was bitching about 'how will we pay for health care' -- and I gave my usual response about how we are already paying, etc.  I wasn't angry -- I try to be factual when I engage the Enemy.  You know, expecting that rational discussion could be had.

What was I thinking?

Why, time and again, do I think one can actually have some rational discussion with these people?  They were nutjobs, every last one of them (my friend wisely refrained from further comment.....).  Not one of them even responded to the points I made or questions I raised.  Just straight up barf-back of Faux News talking points.  I may as well have been watching Glenn Beck for all the dialogue going on. 

I should've known better, you might be saying right about now.  Yes, I should have.  But for every 100 or so nutbags I suffer, I find one really cool person with whom I can actually discuss and debate.  I guess I only encountered 99 today......

But it just goes to show: I really am an optimist.  Only an optimist could continue to engage such dopeheads in such fruitless conversations that inevitably contain personal attacks.  Now, where did I put that cloak of cynicism...it's around here somewhere........