Who are these people and how what color is the ozone in their world?  

I realize that I don't often  rub elbows with with people like those who are packing the Town Hall forums and accusing legislators  home for the summer recess of being Communists, Nazis, or just anti-American.  I don't purposfully avoid people whose opinions differ from mine,  it's just worked out that way.  In my working- middle-class neighborhood the campaign signs for Obama outnumbered those for McCain at least 4 - 1.  (There's a house on my block that we point to as the home of the "token Republicans" on the street, but they didn't put up a sign. )   For thirty years I've worked for non-profit organizations, and my co-workers at these places have generally been liberals like me, at least on social issues.  My friends are mostly  teachers, social workers, or health care workers who make much less than six figure incomes and most of them are also fairly progressive thinkers.  But every once in awhile events make me realize there's a whole other world out there, and maybe I need to pay attention to what the other side has to say, so at least I'm not so taken aback by their fabrications and invented reality that I can't respond in a calm and reasonable way.  

Although I don't think facts and reason have much sway over people like the  woman tearfully saying that she doesn't want to have to answer to her child when he asks why they're waiting in line for toilet paper, or the guy pictured with a gun strapped to his leg while holding an anti-Obama sign,  or hear it repeatedly stated that euthanasia is part of the national health plan proposal, when it's been pointed out that it's not true.  I work with elderly people, I'm for national health insurance, and I wouldn't support it if offing Grandma was part of the plan.   Think about it --  how likely is it that a person running for public office would ever propose such a ludicrous idea? Politicians are so afraid of the power of older voters that they won't even mess with Social Security. 

Who are these frightened, gullible  people and  and why are they so  willing to ignore reality and believe the fearmongers?  How are they able to blissfully unaware of their  hypocrisy when they attend a town hall meeting to shout about how they don't want government in charge of their health care, when they're receiving Medicare and happy with it?  Who are these people who would vote against a new plan that would promote the common good because they prefer to see the  continuation of a broken system that benefits the insurance and pharmaceutical companies who believe that money trumps need?  

Maybe if I got out of my St Paul neighborhood and spent some time in the  Sixth District that elected Michelle Bachmann to Congress I might better understand the thinking on the other side of the issue.  But it would probably do even less good than visiting my dad in Nebraska and debating with him about his membership in the NRA.  We at least listen to each other politely before agreeing to disagree. The people at the Town Hall meetings seem much more interested in spewing their programmed talking points  than to listening.  Who are they? And why are they so afraid?   I'm concerned that they're going to stand in the way of progress towards a plan that would benefit everybody, including them,  because they don't understand the problem.  And I don't understand them.