Should I become a more tolerant, open minded person?

At one time or another, we all wonder how others perceive us.
Since self reflection is difficult at best and most people
won't give you an honest opinion, I decided to look at how others think
about those similar to me. I know that this is not the best way to do
it, but perhaps by seeing what others say about those that hold similar
values and opinions, I can get a rough estimate about myself. (Note:
the data has been gathered over many years and from a variety of
sources) (Note 2: My self assessment is in italics to give my stance on said issue)

On coming from a small town in the hills of eastern Kentucky:

I am close minded, uneducated, ignorant, xenophobic, a redneck and a hillbilly.


I am very open minded, educated, nice,
caring, and enjoy the simple things in life

On leaning toward conservatism politically:

I am intolerant, big business, a crook, a liar, stupid, a prick, an asshole, a capitalist pig.

Actually, I am none of those, well I am an occasional asshole and I do believe in capitalism.


On religion:

I am close minded, stupid, silly, ignorant, intolerant, anti-sex, anti other religions, an oppressor, unintelligent and a bible thumper.

While not religious to a tee and by no means living at the foot of the cross, I think that there is apparently a need to believe
in something larger than ones self or else so many people wouldn't be
touched by it. Lost is the arrogance of youth I once held thinking that
I knew all the answers. Now I am comfortable thinking that perhaps I
don't know it all.

On abortion:

I am ignorant, an oppressor of womens rights, intolerant, sexist, a chauvinist pig

I think that there should be some personal responsibility placed on us all. While I can understand that there are cases where it is called for, I don't not think that it is the best solution to the
problem.

On affirmative action:

I am a racist, the man, a white devil, an oppressor, a hater

I think that a person should be judged on their merits and hard work, not on the color of their skin. To be given something simply because of your race is demeaning and unfair.

On gay marriage:

I am close minded, intolerant, ignorant, a homophobe, an oppressor

I feel that the tradition of marriage is
between a man and a woman, plain and simple.

On the war and the military:

I am a murder, a fascist, a terrorist, I condone torture, an imperialist,
stupid, insane, a war monger, an oppressor, intolerant of other cultures

I feel that at times, wars and force are
called for. Even though it is not pretty, I enjoy my way of life here
and wish everyone could have the same freedoms that I do.

On illegal immigration:


I am a racist, a xenophobe and intolerant

I feel that it is a privilege
to live here in the US. I know far too many people that have worked
their asses off to get here the right way only to see
others reap the same benefits with none of the effort.


Ok,
I kind of chose these topics for a reason. They seem to elicit the most
passionate responses from people when pleading their side of it. I also
chose them for another reason. The ones that usually refer to those
like me in the terms used above are the ones that claim to be the
opposite of me...the open minded
and the tolerant, the caring and compassionate.

Funny thing is, when I think about others that see things differently than I
do or read others opinions on the same issues, words like silly and
arrogant come to mind. Not very powerful words when compared now is it.
Wonder if I should become more like them...more tolerant of others
opinions, others ideas, others beliefs and start voicing my opinion in
the language that they seem to prefer?...

Nah, I think I'll just stay an ignorant,intolerant, close minded, conservative hillbilly redneck a little while longer.

My Favorite Movie of all Time

While spending a lazy Saturday afternoon on the couch with my dogs, I was treated with AMC showing one of my all time favorite movies in honor of Veterans Day. The movie is called "Sargent York" and chronicles the life of Alvin C. York, a Congressional Medal of Honor winner in World War 1. He was a small town country boy that was called to duty against his will (he had become a Christian and thought that killing, even a enemy, was wrong). The movie shows the inner struggles he had to go through and overcome to later become one of the greatest heroes of the military.

I think more than anything, the reason I like the movie so much is that it shows how hill folk tend to view things. Once scene, when they hear about the war in Europe, shows how they saw things..."yep, thats way over there....they just better not bring it into the Valley of the 3 Forks". It showed the attitude of most raised back then and to a certain extent, today. We have enough to worry about here, no need to spend time worrying about things over there.

Anyway, it is a great movie starring Garry Cooper and I highly recommend it for lazy Saturday afternoon viewing.


More on Sargent Alvin C. York

Perception is reality at its finest...or STFU.

The democrats former poster boy for president, John Kerry, decided to take a swing at being a comedian the other day and said:

"Kerry then told the students that if they were able to navigate the education system, they could get comfortable jobs - 'If you don't, you get stuck in Iraq,' he said to a mixture of laughter and gasps."

Now if he meant that soldiers were un educated or that it was a stupid administration by the comment, that is not important. What is, is the fact that he is too arrogant to simply appologize. I listened this morning to him as he called in to the Don Imus show, and Imus point blankly told him that regardless of the intent, his statement was taken as a slam on the soldiers and he should simply say he was sorry. Nope, he talked about every other topic but refused that one. To paraphrase one of the on air people of the show (which is 99% of the time critical of the current administration) "He wasn't using a shovel to dig the hole he is in, he was using heavy equipment!"

It, more than likely, was a simple faux pas. All he had to do was say "opps, that didn't come out right, what I meant was......" Instead, he continues to ignore how his comment was perceived, he continues to claim it was fine, they just want to use it against him, he continues to pretty much do everything except what would get him out of this mess. One would think, educated or not, that he would think back to what happened to Trent Lott over a little opps....or maybe not.

Perception is reality Mr. Kerry, plain and simple.