“The good news is that these bad behaviors are largely confined to small yet vocal minorities. As soon as the real crowd speaks up, they’re drowned out.”

The problem I see is that small, vocal minorities often seem to be the only ones participating. The real crowd often is AWOL. As Jesse says, they are “highly disinterested.”

The extremes enjoy the ease of self-annointed purity. They never have to sully themselves by working toward a solution. The media focuses on the extremes; it makes for a very easy story. We have come to think that extremes yelling at each other (e.g., Rocky and Hannity) constitutes good political debate. Many (most?) non-extremists seem to be thoroughly disgusted, and they simply don’t participate — giving louder voice to the extremes.

I love the way you engage, Tom. You have helped shape my opinion on occassion, and you have helped remind me on occassion that I need to engage in a more substantive, less shrill way. Thanks.

With choices like that, it’s no wonder so many folks are highly disinterested in participating in politics. It’s a game of character assassinations and dehumanization that provides the same level of enlightenment as “professional” wrestling.

The good news is that these bad behaviors are largely confined to small yet vocal minorities. As soon as the real crowd speaks up, they’re drowned out.