I hate the lack of real debate that’s going on, at least that I can see. There are so many emotions on either side, and I don’t hear people standing up and saying, Hey, can we talk about this like people and not like Republicans or Democrats? Can we have someone say, hey I didn’t vote for him, but I like the way Obama has done this…or, hey I did vote for him, but I don’t like the way Obama has done that…? Why does that seem impossible right now?

It’s true there was plenty of negativity going around when Bush was president, and some of it made me quite uncomfortable, even though I wasn’t happy about what was going on either. There’s a level of respect I think we need to maintain for the person who is our president, regardless of whether we think he’s doing a good job. I think it’s entirely possible to disagree without being disrespectful, and I didn’t like it when people were disrespectful under Bush, and I don’t like it any more now. I guess the tone of most of what I’m hearing right now just seems much more emotional and hysterical than what I heard when Bush was in office, though it could just be that my liberal friends are less prone to hysterics and they weren’t representative of the overall tone in our country. (I am in no way saying everyone who disagrees is in hysterics–not at all! Just that there are plenty of people who are.) Who knows. Maybe people are just crazy right now because the recession is on the news 24 hours a day, and it’s stressing us out.

But you are absolutely right. And I think we need more people like you who can say, I’m going to be critical–in a logical manner–of either party, because that’s the beauty of democracy, and how is our country going to improve if we are forced into two modes of thought with no variation?

And, I don’t really think that the conservatives are any more reactionary than the liberals were during the Bush era. I think most people who are making the noise on the negative side are legitimately afraid of the direction the country is headed under the President’s leadership, but are not able to form a logical argument against it or are so upset, that they lose rational thinking. And unfortunately, the squeaky wheel gets the grease…

I do also feel there are people on the other side of the fence that are so blinded by their party line that anything their candidate does is sacred and the end all solution. Therefore, you can’t criticize what that candidate is doing or you are immediately wrong. And if the parties were reversed, I believe the reactions would be the same.

Now, I think we should all be responsible for the consequences of what we say, but the beauty of our country is the freedom to say how we feel without being jailed, beaten or killed. This kind of criticism is not new either. You can look throughout history and see how Presidents have been lampooned and skewered. I think it is a painful, but wonderful thing at the same time.

I am just glad I belong to neither party and can criticize them equally!

It’s like the recent discussion about Obama’s birth certificate. People are no longer concerned with having the facts and reporting the truth. Apparently you can make any claim, no matter how unfounded, and expect to be taken seriously. It’s a very worrisome trend in our culture.

And by the way, I was one of those people who wanted Bush “to go,” but I meant it in terms of impeachment and not assassination. I would never wish death on anyone, but I believe that criminals should be prosecuted and held accountable for their crimes.

And it’s true that there are crazy people of all political affiliations, just as there are crazy people in all religions, but that doesn’t mean all people of that affiliation or belief system is crazy. (I guess that’s what we can all come to consensus on!) I think what worries me is how casual it’s become to say things that could be very dangerous. That’s what I don’t like–that it’s acceptable, normal, and expected at this point that people, including people of very high profiles, to say things like that.

— Or maybe is it possible that these people didn’t mean to be hurtful or vicious about it, or make you feel less of a person, but simply were pointing things out to see if you knew about them? That’s a big problem with the Internet, Erin. The inflection gets interpreted contrary to the writer’s intention. Usually, if one already feels on the defense about a certain topic, if someone nonchalantly sends an e-mail about that topic, it can be taken as an attack (because one is already predisposed to defending oneself concerning that topic). I have had to learn, when it comes to texting as well as e-mails, to ask the writer what his/her intention was in sending the text/e-mail. I have avoided a lot of disagreements/hurt feelings simply by asking him/her what the intended inflection was.

As for the friend who was saying that President Obama “needs to go”, there are plenty of people who felt that way about Bush, and there is always going to be at least one person who feels that way about any President, whether they mean impeachment or otherwise. Every President of the United States has had at least one assassination attempt. I wouldn’t worry too much about it… There are plenty of men and women who protect the President. He’s in good hands.