"The difference between you and I is, I don't hate or despise "BushCo." - Dale

"I think your absolute hatred may be skewing your ability to see things the way they really are." - Dale

"What do you think Dale? Does that right there qualify as HATE or what?" - Marc

In your post, Dale, you reveal one of the true road blocks to open discussion in this country right now, HATE. It is a powerful tool and we've seen it used again and again to control the discourse and control the direction we move in.

From the promotion of the idea that the "terrorists and certain countries HATE us" to the never ending dismissal of dissent as "they just HATE Bush" or "HATE Republicans", or "HATE rich people", or "HATE (insert name of talk show host or author here)" or even sadly "HATE America."

If we believed the "HATE Machine" in this country we would see the United States as a raging ocean of HATE. People rushing out their door in the morning ready for combat with their neighbors, co-workers, people at the bar, people they pass in their cars on their morning commute, anyone that's a different color, class, or drives a car we don't like. The guy in the Prius is rushing up to yank a soccer mom from her Hummer to beat her to death with a baseball bat.

It would not be hard to believe this if you watch enough tv, listen to enough radio, or read enough HATE articles or books. There is a HATE machine in this country and it's been working overtime for years now to convince us we are hated and to urge us to hate right back.

The thing is though this is not the America I see when I step out my door in the morning. I don't drive or walk around in a rage hoping to "punish" a Republican or see a Hummer crash into something and explode into a ball of fire killing its driver and passengers. It's funny though there are a lot of people that either think this is how I think, hope this how I think, want me to think this way or want to force me to think this way. We're much easier to control when we're at each other's throats after all.

It's easy to dismiss someone you think is full of HATE. This means they are not rational, that they are seeing things in a rage rather than clearly and so it's probably best to dismiss their words or ideas because they are tainted. This is why the HATE Machine is in business. The key element is to get you to ignore the evidence or substance and focus on the messenger and the illusion of motive they create. In this case the motive is always hate because it's a base emotion that anyone can fathom. It's also a lot easier to communicate and understand hate than many of these convoluted and wide ranging scandals.

Anyway, I know I'm off on a tangent here but it's one I think is important to create open discussion and understanding...not just on this board but anywhere really. My point is and what I'm asking of you, Dale, is to see beyond the HATE. Not your personal feelings in this case but the idea that the people you are having a discussion with can't see straight because they are in some sort of apoplectic fit of rage.