Why The Political Vitriol Exists

The question was posed to me earlier, "Why do Democrats so outwardly despise those who disagree with them?" I don't honestly believe that it is a political leaning from one side of the aisle in Congress or the other, but more from an ideological standpoint than anything else.

As a Conservative, I believe that most who share my mindset tend to see things in black and white, right and wrong, polar opposites so to speak. On an intellectual level, we can justify our beliefs based not only upon experience, but an a + b = c type common sense! Logical arguments tend to frame our debating points, and it frustrates us to no end that liberals just can't seem to grasp any simple concept.

Liberals, on the other hand, approach issues from a deeply emotional perspective, one that is rooted in a standpoint of "how does this issue make me feel about myself?". Liberals see the worst in everyone who doesn't feel the same way about a particular issue that they do, even if its another liberal they disagree with!

Conservatives have the benefit of history on their side, and the Liberals are slowly overcoming that by re-writing history to conform to their own bigger-government agenda. Conservatives have the benefit of logic on their side, and unable to put forth an intelligent counterpoint, Liberals will resort to name-calling or branding. Conservatives believe in setting the bar of personal achievement high, that overcoming failure to achieve success is a necessary builder of character. Liberals believe in lowering the bar to a level that eliminates any failure whatsoever.

Pick any topic du jour...abortion, gun rights, illegal immigration, or homosexuality, and you can bet that argument is framed on the Conservative side with careful thought and concern for the majority, whereas the Liberal side are based on self-centered emotion. Anyone who believes that abortion is wrong is labeled a misogynist, or worse. Believe that every American has a right to own a gun and the liberals cry about bloodshed staining the streets of our cities and towns. If you support illegal immigration enforcement and securing the borders, then you are a racist! If you don't believe that one who practices sodomy for pleasure should go camping with your 10-year-old son in the Boy Scouts, then you are a homophobe.

The primary problem with the emotion-based arguments is that emotions are fleeting and ill-defined, whereas history is there for all to see and learn from. But don't waste a lot of time trying to convince a liberal of that...they will simply rewrite history and redefine the terms of the argument.