The slippery middle ground

I'm a big proponent of balance. I think probably most people are, too, if you get them to open up enough. Somehow I kind of doubt most people enjoy being one-sided and ornery; certain things kick up your dander for a bit, but once the crazy emotions subside you realize it's much more beneficial (and feels good for longer periods of time) when you come to a reasoned, balanced viewpoint.

I'm usually hesitant to write at any lengths about political stuff because, A. I don't follow it all that closely, B. I don't usually have firm opinions (I'm almost always able to see reason in multiple points of view), and C. what political knowledge I do have comes from The West Wing, which (although awesome) is not real.

So I'm not going to write at length about political stuff. I'm just going to re-post President Obama's speech last night on immigration, because I think it's one of the more thoughtful and balanced responses to a contentious issue that I've heard in a while. Try, even though it's hard, to block out all the one-sided opinions this speech will bring out of the woodwork and simply listen to the words. (Or, read them, here's the transcript). Entertainment thrives on winners and losers, one party vs. another, and those things are fun in the right context. But when it comes to serious stuff, me vs. you is not just boring, it's insane. Think about why sportscasters and athletes are always only able to say the same things over and over...

For some reason it seems like a lot of folks dislike President Obama (despite the economy not imploding, gas being under $3 a gallon, more of our troops being at Home and not abroad...the list goes on) but I'm again not really sure about what it seems like. It's tough being moderate. Everybody's shouting at you to pick a side, when the real world isn't me vs. you. What it seems like is a lot of loud people with rigid opinions not liking him.

The thing about loud people is that they shout because they don't want to give anyone the time to stop and think about what it is they're actually saying.

Alright I wrote a little more than I intended; please feel free to yell about that.