My Turd Is Smells Better Than Your Turd...

That's the sentiment that I see over and over again daily as we slosh our way through this latest presidential tomfoolery. (that's a classic word)

You've got Obama and the Blue team on one side, and you've got Romney and the Red team on the other side. Which is the way its always been. At least in my lifetime.

Red vs. Blue. That's all we've got. 

Now, even I remember a time when things were a bit different than they are now. I remember a time when there could be two guys sitting at a table, discussing politics and these two guys could completely disagree on every damn thing there is.

Pro-Life/Pro-choice

Pro-gun/Pro gun control

Red/Blue

Socialized medicine/Free-market

And on and on they could go. Now after they got done discussing all of that. They would politely agree to disagree and get on with their lives. In many cases, these two guys were friends, coworkers, even family members.

Nowadays, if you even express a political opinion, I'd make sure that I know exactly who is in the room and make sure they agree with you, and if there is disagreement in the room make sure you're bigger than the other guy.

The test of a first-rate intelligence is the ability to hold two opposed ideas in the mind at the same time, and still retain the ability to function. -F. Scott Fitzgerald

In todays day and age of tea parties, and anarchists, and far left nut jobs, and far right warmongers, and extremists of every ilk there is no room for a tempered opinion, nor is there any room for an intelligent argument where both parties attempt to see the view point of the other. 

It takes quite a bit of brain power to actually argue with someone. An actual argument requires facts, and logical thinking, and organization, and the ability to see a point of view other than your own. A measure of brain power that I'm sorry to say I don't think we as Americans have anymore. 

We don't argue. We talk louder until we're shouting. We don't discuss the pros and cons of an idea. We defame the creator or proponent of the idea. Americans have lost their ability to argue and compromise and have thus stagnated as a society. You have the far right doing its thing, and the far left doing its thing and the middle trying to stay out of all of this. And all the while, right is smashing into left over and over again and no one can get anything done.

The only people participating in our political process are the true believers. The lunatics. I am right, you are wrong, everything you say is evil, your candidate is the anti-Christ and you are the devil's servant. MY TURD SMELLS BETTER THAN YOURS!!!

Until this country realizes that the participants in our political process are the ones who are causing all the trouble, we're not going to be able to change things. Politicians have a vested interest in maintaining the status quo and they'll do it to our detriment. The true believers are few and far between. There aren't that many of them. The only difference between them and us is the volume of our voices. 

The vast majority of this country can see why we would need a strong military and access to health care for all citizens. A vast majority can understand that guns should not be taken from law abiding citizens and yet there are reasonable restrictions on that right. A vast majority believe that a woman should have a right to an abortion, but it shouldn't be used as a form of birth control.

The vast majority, however, isn't the ones who have been speaking...