Critical Thought and Partisan Politics

The Beer:  Sweetwater 420 IPA

The Bicycle:  I am formally back in the routine, but my mileage is far less and the legs don't recover like they did a few short years ago.

The VRWC:  I think it has been clear for a while that critical thought gets lost in the new partisanship.  For the last decade, blocking the opposition in all things, whether we agree or not and whether good for the country or not has become the predominant form of expression.  The Democrats have taken a page from the Republican book this time and put it on steroids.  Republicans floated stories about President Obama that had just enough truth to be believable.  Some stories were true, but certainly not all.  It was all to give the base some red meat.  Get them riled up to take the House and Senate and eventually the White House.  We lost our minds.  No FEMA Camps, folks.  The Democrats have taken it a step further and are openly declaring from Day 1 that they will "resist".  Resist what?  Doesn't matter.  I'm not even certain they know.

Immediately upon the defeat of the chosen one (her ordination was certain, the election, a formality), Democrats have been busy delegitimizing  the President.  The media is a willing partner as are all the leftist organizations.

What is the result of this?  The result is that we no longer think critically.  Our bias is what is correct, evidence to the contrary be damned.  Here are some recent examples:

1. President Trump met with Kim Jong Un.  The first President in my lifetime to meet with a North Korean dictator.  The goal is to remove the threat from NoKo, formally end a 70-year-old war and unite the two countries in peace and prosperity.  Trump supporters hailed this as "Peace in our Time", his detractors say he got played and the world is more dangerous because he's stupid, etc, etc, etc.  Anyone who thinks critically says, "This is a good first step.  The long term results of this first meeting remain to be seen."  The reply from both sides is stunningly hateful.
2. The 1967 fire aboard the USS Forrestal is well documented.  A Zuni rocket on an F4 Phantom jet suffered an electrical short and misfire across the deck into waiting aircraft.  131 sailors were killed and 161 were injured.  It is required study for any sailor to this day.  A young Lieutenant Commander by the name of John McCain was aboard.  The errant missile hit right next to the aircraft which he was preparing to fly.  That is the only connection to the fire that now-Senator McCain has.  Now-Senator McCain is not well-liked in some circle.  I don't care for him; he has become a bitter hateful old man who lashes out at President, Party and constituents.  He also has inoperable brain cancer.  Those who do not like him have latched onto a story that he attempted a "wet start" on his jet and consequently set another aircraft on fire, resulting in the shipboard fire.  Clear video evidence, the Navy's investigation, eyewitnesses all indicate the cause of the fire was the rocket misfire.McCain's detractors are unwilling to even consider the evidence.  The behavior is so bizarre as to be the rantings of the mentally ill.

I see the symptoms, but I can't tell you root cause (other than "human nature") or provide a solution.  What I do know is that it is discouraging and I do not see a peaceful way out of it.