Thank you Arianna

I don’t like to discuss politics with acquaintances. My views result from years of experience and exposure, but most importantly, are very personal. They are not necessarily right they are simply mine. I am not arrogant enough to think anyone else cares. It is not my job to evangelize, and I don’t want anyone to “save” me. The good news is, I don’t have to raise the issues with anyone, living on the Westside of Los Angeles I already know what the neighbors think. In case they think I don’t know their views, they happily share them.

Blue State people love to share. I find this out every time I walk my son to school. They know their view is the only right one. They also know their enlightened view is so obvious, everyone must agree with them. Bush’s most recent deficiency is no less obvious than the color of the sky. No one could possibly disagree. Now that we have people like Arianna Huffington providing talking points, my neighbors can support their arguments with facts. Each morning they can collect their daily talking points.

“Did you know Condoleezza Rice was watching a play during Hurricane Katrina and then went shoe shopping?” It doesn’t matter that she has no role in domestic affairs; she was not in New Orleans.

“Did you know Chief Justice Rehnquist once bought a house that had a restriction against selling to Jews?” It doesn’t matter that he did not put it in the deed and that restriction, which is found in millions of deeds across the country, including mine, was likely not enforceable when he bought the house.

These talking points sound good. They are inflammatory and troubling, and delivered by experts. Trained professionals like Ari Emanuel, founder of Endeavor, one of Hollywood’s leading talent agencies tells us what the federal role is in disaster relief; Sherry Lansing, long time head of Paramount Studios and one of the most successful women in the history of Hollywood explains the fundamentals of Stem Cell research; and Adam McKay, writer of Anchorman and Bewitched, points out the Bush administrations failure to read or adequately respond to memos.

I am not defending the actions or inactions of George Bush or his administration. However, I don’t want to hear theories about his connections to Halliburton any more than I wanted to hear about Bill and Hillary Clinton’s self-dealing. For every fact the Red guys raise, the Blue guys throw one back. It is counterproductive. People must not mindlessly accept the information delivered to them by the person with whom they most agree. The media is biased. As much as we like to get our information from like-minded individuals, if we want to be educated and culturally literate, we have to listen to the other side. Until you Reds, or Blues for that matter, choose to take a truth driven approach, rather than partisan, please keep your views to yourself.