Knut A. Krogstad felt his letter on conservatism would bring a hearty chuckle to those who share his political persuasion. Personally I think many will be chagrined by the narcissism in the letter. In the age of email we often get things that confirm our biases. They are so easy to read, laugh, and forward. But all the while we get a little smugger and a little more convinced that ‘we’ are superior while ‘they’ are idiots.
If offended, he says, a conservative switches channels, while liberals demand the show be shut down. Come on Knut, are you really telling me you can’t remember a single incident of conservatives trying to ban offensive TV, records or movies?
A conservative non-believer, says Krogstad, simply doesn’t go to church, while a liberal non-believer demands all mentions of religion be silenced. Yet who lobbies for state organized prayer in school? Who insists that the nation, believers or not, glorify God in national anthem and constitution?
I suspect Knut’s letter originates south of the border, a place where politics have become hopelessly partisan. Wouldn’t it be better for the country to not assume that people with different views are just deluded, greedy, conniving idiots? Would it perhaps be better if we talked and searched for common ground and even tried to respect our differences? We can’t do that if we choose to misrepresent others.
I know that liberal democrats are not perfect. I know my own ideas can sometimes be half-baked and that I need people to occasionally give my head a shake.
Hopefully Knut and his fellow conservatives actually understand the same thing about themselves. Unfortunately, you would never guess that from his disrespectful, insulting, self congratulatory letter.
Wayne Fowler
Armstrong
