I guess I have to jump in, here. With all you (non-specific ;-) smart people slinging around the word "stupid" and calling all your friends, relatives, neighbors, and countrymen stupid, it really tells us more about the accusers than the accused, I think.
I think it would be much smarter of you to avoid prematurely concluding that all these fellow humans are stupid and, rather, imagine yourselves curious humans (perhaps even scientists?) and spend time actually trying to figure out what's going on. If Obama is elected, and (as expected) Democrats sweep the Senate and retain the House, then I expect to see a virtually exact mirror of the past 8 years. Granted, we won't see blanket accusations of anti-americanism for petty things like not wearing a flag lapel pin. But we'll see the exact same herd mentality that causes such. Instead, we _may_ see accusations of anti-americanism if you maintain a healthy skepticism for universal healthcare, heavy-handed financial regulation, or whatever. It would be more interesting (than calling people stupid) to consider the dialectic and why we always seem to require polarization, us-vs-them, two-party systems, in order to make our political decisions? What is it about dichotomy (usually false) that helps us cognitively? ... especially to make the transition from thought to action? -- glen e. p. ropella, 971-222-9095, http://tempusdictum.com ============================================================ FRIAM Applied Complexity Group listserv Meets Fridays 9a-11:30 at cafe at St. John's College lectures, archives, unsubscribe, maps at http://www.friam.org
