Whether opponents of the health care law like it or not, your point of view is being defined in the minds of its supporters by the morons making threats against members of Congress who voted for the bill.
Many of you will say that there is nothing that you can do about people who do such moronic things, but I disagree: if people could differentiate your principled opposition from their reactionary rhetoric, it would be much harder to lump you into a group with them.
Now, I understand that one of the famous, arrogant tactics of American liberals is to lump most people who disagree with them into one group, call them uneducated and idiots, and try to ignore them, but quite a few so-called conservatives are uneducated cool aid drinkers who know little more about the issues they think they oppose than what Beck or Hannity or Limbaugh told them. If you want to separate yourself from those rabble and make yourself into a force that cannot be ignored, the first step is to educate yourself on the facts of liberty, our republic, and the issues at hand.
So, here is a challenge: if you don’t want to get lumped into the “death threat” set of the health reform law opposition, start by polishing your arguments. I am reading Democracy in America by Alexis de Tocqueville, a Frenchman who observed American democracy in action in the early 1800s. Starting next week, I will begin blogging about this book chapter by chapter. Why not follow along? Most bookstores carry copies right now.
While you’re at it, why not join the conversation here too, and if you like what you read here, share it with others. One of the best ways to define what you believe is to congregate with others who believe the same thing. If we work together to define ourselves, no one can ignore us.
DLH
