First, let me say, I am really glad this board was created.  It'll be fun.

But here's the thing that strikes me most about all the conversations in TER (and everywhere else) about politics: do any of us really know the basis of our opinions, other than we have some basic sense of values or perceptions that drive them?

I'll start by using the example of Matesar, on the LA boards – a fine example of a SNBOG (Short Nerdy Bald Old Guy), by the way.  Mathesar provides an analysis of providers' ratings using data and then describes his process of evaluation.  The reader can verify his conclusions if he or she wants to.  It's transparent.

With politics, almost everything is filtered over and over again.  Even if you're a voracious reader and CSPAN watcher, it's hard to get to the source information.  I mean, it's a complex world we live in, and we're all busy.  Take global warming, as an example.  The messages we receive about the validity re this are all over the place, partially because there is no big sign from god in the sky saying yep or nope.  And partially because the reporting agency takes whatever bias it has in siphering through the conflicting and ambiguous studies and logic.  We get conclusions, generally without the transparency of a Mathesar analysis.

Talk radio is the place where I notice this the most.  I hear almost no analysis, but I do hear very effective demagoguery that begins with a bias and an agenda, interprets everything through that bias, adds in plenty of emotional triggers for people who share this bias, and, voila, mobilizes strongly held opinions.  

So, when we shout at each other about what idiots the other guy is, what we are saying is, my ignorance is superior to your ignorance because I believe in the bias through which I see things more than I do yours.  

What I see when I read people’s posts is much more about who they are as people – how mature, how objective, how moral, how angry, and so on.  And the more immature and dogmatic the person is, the less they think through the assumptions they base their opinions on, the less influential they are.  Polaring, maybe even funny, but if the goal is to influence, they are just masturbating.  

All that being said, I really enjoy reading the shouting and name calling, because occasionally someone gets off a very good line.  But in a time when there are some truly important decisions we need to make as a country as we address the proliferation of terrifying weaponry in the hands of god-knows-who and very complex issues of a global, interconnected economy, I would really find it encouraging if this tiny group of people learned how to sort through the emotions and identify the core basis of their perspectives and the logic behind them.  

Then what would happen to the democrats?  If people really thought deep enough and understood the "core basis of their perspectives and the logic" then we wouldn't have any democrats/liberals left.

Couldn't resist.

Yes, I'm putting on my flame proof underwear.

Great use of the word "masturbating"; kudos to you, wmblake. By the way, great post overall.