Sandra Lynn Sparks's Open Salon Blog

Political Discussion Is Futile

Mon, 26 Dec 2011 08:12:13 -0500

"Who's Herman Cain?"

He lost me with those few words. There are Republicans I would love to discuss politics with, because there are still, hidden in the mist, rational Republican thinkers who I might disagree with, but when they have points they actually know what they are talking about and we can have a real and productive discussion. But when someone who votes Republican asked me "Who's Herman Cain ?" I knew not to allow the discussion to start. This happened in the midst of Herman Cain's very well covered exit from the race. He should have known Herman Cain was his "brother from another mother." They have one thing very much in common. Both can say "I don't know."

The failure of American politics is not rooted in the people who are elected, but the people who do the electing. People who brag about preferring to keep their heads in the sand, or just say "they're all crooks," are not equipped to decide who will make decisions for any of us. That simple. Ignorance is not bliss, in an age when all the information about candidates is easily available to us - ignorance is dangerous. We've been paying dearly for ignorant choices, especially this past year. We can't afford ignorance in 2012.

Whatever party you identify yourself with, do not go into the voting booth without knowing why you are voting for someone based on issues, not party affiliation. Get your information from a number of sources, not just one. Take a look at elected representatives' actual records, and not just what they say they have done. Learn to separate spin from facts. Be a truly informed voter.

Or just don't vote. If you choose to remain ignorant about what's going on in this country, you may have been given the right to vote, but have you really earned it? Could you give a vote you really could be proud of, one you worked to make right? Be honest. Stay informed.

Harassment: The mean gift that keeps on giving.

Mon, 10 Oct 2011 09:10:47 -0400

I removed the original post that was here while I contacted organizations and people across the country trying to figure out what to do about the particular Internet Harassment that has been happening to me and my friends. One organization strongly suggested that I take down this blog which talks openly about two trolls I have been dealing with. If these two were private people, I would not have posted a blog naming them. But as they have styled themselves as public figures (though they don't deserve the title), and since the organization did not give me advice that fit the unusual circumstances we found ourselves in, I am updating this post, and have reopened the blog.

How has the Internet become this much a part of our lives without Internet law keeping up with the needs? Why does it take physical harm or death to make people sit up and pay attention, only to lose that attention the next time the problem comes along? We have become a society that rewards misbehavior, an attitude that is reflected in everything from our consumption of goods to our politics. We are no longer controlled by a majority, but by a succession of minorities who don't care about other people. In the case of our harassment, a group of probably only about FIVE people with extra help from friends they used as drones along the way harassed a much larger group for months, because there were not enough safety measures in place.

People who create websites and pages are responsible for the content on the page, incuding monitoring comments and activities that are posted on the page by others. But there are times when the pagemasters don't take the responsibility, and someone ends up getting hurt.

Internet trolls and bullies take advantage of the laziness that leaves a page unmonitored. My friends and I know that one only too well now. Go read the blog. No one knows when this will end, but at least the activity has calmed down since we have a new monitored page. The peace still seems rather new and strange. But in the meantime, a few desperate trolls are digging under Internet bridges elsewhere. Help shut them down: If you know someone who likes to harass people on the Internet, shun that person. Let bullies know there is a social price to be paid for being mean.

I'll Have Just The Same Please

Sun, 25 Sep 2011 06:09:21 -0400

I've been alarmed by a trend that all the major Internet social sites have begun and are now following at an alarming rate of accuracy.

They only give people what the people's words show them they're interested in.

That means if you're a person who's not interested in much, there's no carrot of newness dangling to stretch your interests or your mind.

This practice is becoming more and more precise.

Soon, the recommendations for your interests will be as precise as this:

If you're of a certain faith or political party you'll only read what your kind want you to read. You'll use the soap made by your kind of soapmaker, eat the snacks made by your kind of junk pusher, wear the clothes - you get the picture. Not just in your political and lifestyle choices, but each and every thing you do will be completely influenced by the interests you have already. This has always been a problem with people who don't think for themselves as a bad habit, but now, more and more, it's a habit we are being trained to rely on.

The outside influences that have always shaped us into adults: Peers, education, newpapers, magazines, television, these individual things of wide of varied choice are gradually being replaced by a menu of "I'll have the same please."

I will not have it. Every day I bless the suggestion that brings me something new.

A Man Who Deserves No Name

Mon, 19 Sep 2011 11:09:57 -0400

This is about a liar.

He not only deserves no name, he deserves no mention. If you have followed a link he or one of his friends gave you. you will not find him. You've been deceived.

People spend too much time believing too much written on the Internet.

Go find something decent to do.

The Polls Are Not Asking The Right Question

Thu, 15 Sep 2011 07:09:49 -0400

I have seen a lot of polls asking Republicans and Independents what they think of President Obama, Congress, and the issues that are important today. They assume if a conservative is not a Republican, a conservative would only become an Independent.

I have not seen them ask a question that may take them by surprise next year, a question to put to Democrats: "Have you switched parties from Republican in the past few years?"

I have news for you. It's happening. It has happened within my family. Has someone you know switched to the Democratic Party recently?

This is the quiet factor for the 2012 election that you might want to consider. I don't know when people decided that Democrats were completely liberal. The two parties had conservative to liberal factions in each of them until recent times. The dividing line between conservative and liberal seems to have become very visible during the Civil Rights Movement. Many conservative Democrats in the South left the party and moved to the Republican Party in anger about Democratic administrations pushing forward civil rights.

Extreme conservatives still see the dividing line between the parties as conservative and liberal. The truth is, the dividing line is between Repressives and Progressives - and a number of attentive Republicans have realized that. Progressives tend towards legislation that will provide necessary services for all; Repressives don't want to share the necessities. They want "every man for himself." That doesn't keep a nation strong. So - Are we a nation or a mass of single people? Here's our battle line.

Becoming Independent may always be a swing position, but it's never a strong one. We work and govern within a two party system. I would love a no party system, but that is a dream that may take a long time coming true. In order to have an effective voice in an election, a voter needs to stand with a party. The Democrats are the only ones offering plans to help get the nation out of this terrible situation we have been in. The Republicans who are running for office have made it clear that the only thing truly important to them is beating Democrats - especially beating (and beating up on) President Obama. The ones elected to Congress have yet to do one substantial thing to help the country recover.

Now is the time for all good Americans to come to the side of one party. We need to come togather as Democrats. Conservatives, moderates, and liberals alike.