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Let's see, Woodrow Wilson, FDR, Truman, And JFK. All democrats for sure,but how would they compare to today's liberals? The liberals of yesteryear would, by many standards be considered conservative today.

Charles Rangle, Maxine Waters, Dick Durbin, Ted Kennedy, Nancy Pelosi.... Not much of a comparison in my book. The liberal leaders of today want one thing and one thing only: to regain their power and the cost to the country be damned. (imho of course!)

Ms. Hawkins prepare yourself for a solid thrashing from the neo-conservatives. As for me, an old conservative, I find that there is room for compromise between conservative and liberal views. After all compromise is what moved this country along for decades.

Unfortunately this country has decided to box and label everyone into one of two groups. My theory is that we have become so lazy as a nation that we need to simplify things to the point of it being either black or white in thinking. It becomes too hard for people to think in that gray area. It's too difficult for many to actualize someone who beleives we can ensure peace by preparing for war or that a person can say they are against abortion, but believe a woman has control over her own body and she makes the decisions when it comes to her life, not the government. Too often these people who tread in that gray area are labeled as a fence-straddler. Those people are dismissed as being indecisive when in fact they are very well situated in their beliefs.

Why is there no room for compromise? Because we must have a "bad guy" on to which we throw all of our problems. If things don't go right in the neo-consevative world, it's because of the liberals. If things don't go right in the liberal world, it's those damn new conservatives. We Americans are bred to seek out the enemy. It has happened since the founding of this country. First, it was the nature which had to be fought and tamed. Then, the native peoples needed to be pushed west. Next, the British government needed to be excised. When we finally get rid of our foreign enemies we turn on each other. The only time we seem to come together is when we have a common enemy. Perhaps the greatest common enemies we have are ignorance, arrogance, and obstinance. These are traits both sides of the fence hold and by holding so tightly to them both parties hold the nation back.

Will the parties ever lose these traits? Not until the next definable enemy appears. For many conservatives the common enemy is terrorists. However, terrorists are not as easily identifiable as Germany or Japan in WWII. Terrorists can be Middle-Eastern, Asian, and even American. The shifting face of the terrorists have made it difficult to brand them as the common enemy. It becomes difficult to explain how this hydra works and why diligence is needed. This is what has lead to more disent between the liberal and conservative camps since 9/11.

Perhaps the only way to rid ourselves of this right or left decision is through a mediating party. A third party could offer many a different view or choice when social, economical, or personal issues arise in our nation. The only problem is this third party will never be allowed to come to fruition because of the two existing parties. Too often a third party is dismissed as fringe or absurd in their views. This occurs mainly because the two existing powers understand that power would slip from the party to the people. The existing parties would be forced to compromise. They would have to learn to bend and flow with the thoughts of the people that our government was intended to represent. That will never happen.

"The liberal leaders of today want one thing and one thing only: to regain their power and the cost to the country be damned."

Liberals do not hold the monopoly on this behavior. You are a fool to suggest otherwise.

"I love God and my country and pledge my allegiance to both." Please tell that to Micheals Newdow and Moore.

"John Kerry served in Vietnam" He did? I never knew that!!

NEOCON - Funny, I hear it both ways:

The "liberal" leaders of today want one thing and one thing only: to regain their power and the cost to the country be damned.

The "conservative" leaders of today want one thing and one thing only: to maintain their power and the cost to the country be damned.

The "quotes" are there because those words are pretty much meanless in shaking things out. If "Republican" or "Democrat" were used, maybe some value in shaking things out.

Joe - I agree - but have a different theory:

It's not "we have become so lazy as a nation .."

We have a sports mentality - my team no matter what. I point to the "Bush won, get over it" phrase we all hear - or use.

Go to a Friday Night football game and listen to the parents (some, not most) screaming at the ref' for a "bad" call upon their son - or hollering for more points when they're already up 50 to 0.

"The only time we seem to come together is when we have a common enemy."

Maybe - we were pulled together by 9-11 - but then it splintered. I have my theory as to why, but clearly we became much less a cohesive unit as the the common enemy became more elusive, less clearly defined (Osama, Terrorism, WMD's, Regime Change, Democracy in the Middle East - did I miss a few stages of evolution, I mean Intelligent Design?).

I'm not hopeful for an easy answer - but it is a good thing our President is [his words]" "a uniter not a divider."

Jeeze think of how bad it'd be if he were a divider!

JDR, I agree with the sports and relation to the team mentality theory you propose. I do think that it makes it easier for people once they choose which team with which to side. Once they choose, they tend to let others think for them and that is the laziness of intellectual thought that I alluded to in my post.

Yes, you are correct in how we lost sight of the common enemy post-9/11. OBL is still out there and his many headed band of Jihadists still roam our planet. No telling where they are or where they'll strike for sure. This leads many to dismiss the importance of vigilence in that area since there is not a clearly defined face to the enemy.

Nocon
I would just like to throw my hat in with the others and also say the republicans are just as bad as the democrats.

To move on
I was happy to see this letter. The democrats have been way to quiet in my opinion about this support for this country and have allowed themselves to become the punching bag for the republicans as a party that doesnt care about this country and are not willing to die for it or to protect it properly. In a recent book an ex-military man pointed out how the democrats in military programs were just as supportive as the republicans, by the way he supported neither the republicans and democrats in this book and was actually heavily critical of both.

To often I read here about how the liberal press wouldnt print or report certain stories and yet I hear about the same stories from the liberal press. And maybe finally the news is standing up to many from the right about how they present the news.

In a recent exchange on CNN International a reporter was interviewing a republican senator about the Iraqi war when the senator went off about how the "liberal press" doesnt report the many good things in Iraq and presents a false negative image of what is going on. The CNN reporter quickly came back on him about how he has been on the ground in Iraq and HAS reported the very things he has mentioned, I have seen many of these myself, and what he reports is the reality he sees and experiences. The senator talked about how he has flown over many of the areas and SPOKEN with the troops and about how great things looked but the reporter came back at him about how he was EMBEDDED with the troops going out on the raids and meeting and talking with the Iraqis in the area and how on several occasions was caught in a ambush. The reporter asked why was his reality less valid or true than the senators.

And to my theory about the division in america.
We have nearly always had an us against them mentallity. US was any one american and them was whoever at the time be it Indians, Spanish, germans, soviets and now for many middle easterns.

But sadly for way to many the THEM now has become US.ie anyone who happens not to share your same values and/or opinion.

I wince anytime somebody writes a letter that includes the term liberals, neocons, conservatives. Especially when they actually identify themselves as one of these.

Come on!! You are so much more than the label you put upon yourself.

I couldn't agree more with neocon. Liberal Democrats today are a far, far cry from Democrats of yesteryear.

Just consider the Democratc National Convention. Michael Moore of all people sitting in a place of honor? Imagine if at the Republican National Convention Carlton Heston or Ted Nugent were invited to the VIP box and seated beside former President Bush. It would be an outrage for the ages. We'd still be hearing about it.

No intellectually honest person can look at the Democratic Party and say "Now there's a party who has national defense running through its veins." I'm thinking more in terms of national contempt.