I don't really want to comment on most of this post, but I want to address your final point:
> You are part of the "smug left"[0]. It's no wonder Joe Klein says this about the Democratic party ""The intellectual corrosion is comprehensive; it is only matched by the self-righteous arrogance.". I'm not sure about the first part, I avoid calling people stupid, but the latter point about the arrogance of the left is spot on.
Where the fuck did conservatives get the idea that they can say whatever they want and people will always be nice to them? The "smug left" stuff comes from the fact conservatives will hitch their wagon to so much stuff that is, in so far that this can be objective, very stupid.
For example, when I was a teenager, Conservatives were really trying to push for Creationism being pushed in schools. Creationism has no scientific basis, it has no business in a science classroom, it's based on an extremely stupid set of books, and yet this is the hill Conservatives wanted to die on.
Sometimes I decide to push back, even politely, but frankly it's exhausting. Creationists are just wrong, how many times should I be expected to have the same polite argument when they clearly have very little desire to actually learn anything?
This might come off as "smug", that's fine. I'm ok with being considered "smug". If you're really making your political decisions based on how polite some people are to you, then that's a lot more telling of you than me.
> You are part of the "smug left"[0]. It's no wonder Joe Klein says this about the Democratic party ""The intellectual corrosion is comprehensive; it is only matched by the self-righteous arrogance.". I'm not sure about the first part, I avoid calling people stupid, but the latter point about the arrogance of the left is spot on.
Where the fuck did conservatives get the idea that they can say whatever they want and people will always be nice to them? The "smug left" stuff comes from the fact conservatives will hitch their wagon to so much stuff that is, in so far that this can be objective, very stupid.
For example, when I was a teenager, Conservatives were really trying to push for Creationism being pushed in schools. Creationism has no scientific basis, it has no business in a science classroom, it's based on an extremely stupid set of books, and yet this is the hill Conservatives wanted to die on.
Sometimes I decide to push back, even politely, but frankly it's exhausting. Creationists are just wrong, how many times should I be expected to have the same polite argument when they clearly have very little desire to actually learn anything?
This might come off as "smug", that's fine. I'm ok with being considered "smug". If you're really making your political decisions based on how polite some people are to you, then that's a lot more telling of you than me.