Right and Left Wing Argument

Recently, there has been much discussion in the media about the division between political parties in the United States. People often seem to allude to better times when there was more cohesion between the political ideologies, and less fighting and uncivil behavior between its members. This is simply not true. The U.S. became what it now is, a strong democracy, through serious disagreements and harsh arguments between those with different viewpoints.

As seen during the Civil War, the Civil Rights Movement, and the War in Vietnam, our political parties have a history of being very divisive.  After the Civil War,  even while the Republicans had a huge majority in Congress, "the party was internally divided" (Foner - p 537). Disagreement about what rights to give African Americans took decades, and shockingly a full century passed before they had the right to vote.

Active and sometimes harsh debate will always be an essential part of the political process in this country, and it contributes to what makes the U.S. such a great democracy. Although sometimes it appears to take too long to accomplish goals, the will of the people is usually demonstrated through this process of debate and disagreement. In President Obama's State of the Union speech last week, he explained that our government exposes itself to criticism that other governments, like China, are not subject to because their government does not allow dissent among their leaders. The Chinese government can censor what is released by the media, and by doing this they make it seem as if they have no internal disagreements.

 In an ideal government, the will of the people will be demonstrated. Even though there are sometimes unpleasant words coming from both the left and right, they lead to decisions that represent the will of the people. All angles of different issues are explored, and therefore although we may not always agree with what the media has to say, we at least have the opportunity to hear all opinions. And that is what makes the United States such a great democracy.

Meta-Blog

I discovered this quarter to be an opportunity for me to learn the importance of empathy for the reader. Up until my last two blogs I had only received a total of three comments on all the blogs I wrote this year. I foolishly believed that my audience was my class and teachers, at best, and I needed to solely address them in my blog. I was wrong. After igniting a storm of outrage from a recent blogpost, I was reminded that on the Internet, anything can be viewed by anyone, and the world is my audience. Also, once a post is written and viewed, it can't be taken back. The response to my blog referencing Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy shocked me. For half the year, barely anyone in my class had ever commented on my posts, and then suddenly I generated about fifty comments in two posts. In the original post I wrote about a connection I considered fascinating and intriguing between marketing and a disease, Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy, that I first heard about in a commercial that aired during a football game. I lacked clarity in this blog, and my audience interpreted what I wrote as an insult to the very real suffering experienced by victims of Duchenne and their families.  Although my post has been officially taken off the Internet and I have written an apology in a follow-up blog, I still have to acknowledge the initial reaction to the post. I also learned from this experience the impact an apology can have. The comments I received following my apology blog showed me how meaningful an apology can be to people who feel that they are not being heard. Still, the power of a controversial blog post can lead to good. The effectiveness of the commercial came into question, along with general discussion of this disease. Also, it was crucial to understand where the comments posted to my blog were coming from, and show empathy to the people who were writing them.

On the Internet, any topic has the potential to spark particular interest from any number of people. When you write a blog you have to question who could read it and how they might interpret what you say, and then show empathy to those people. I can voice my opinion freely, but I must watch my tone and intentions. Based on experience, I never anticipated anyone would actually read my blog, but even still I should have found an appropriate tone for what I was attempting to say. Not only was it offensive to people, but it was misinterpreted because of my flippant and arrogant tone. People were particularly frustrated with the fact that I would complain that a disease would have an advertisement. The readers did not know that my intention was positive, and I did not mean to have an offensive tone. Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy should of course be funded, and a commercial is a great way to draw public attention, and generate donations to help find a cure. From now on, I hope to carefully examine who my blog might impact and how it might be interpreted, not only to avoid causing hurt, but to get my point across.


Note: The Judge and The Teacher

A Sincere Apology

I am writing in response to Debra from CureDuchenne and other constructive writers who commented on my recent blog post. Thanks especially to Debra and Hannah for helping me realize that I clearly lacked some basic knowledge about Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy. After spending some time researching this devastating disease, I have begun to understand a little more about it and to appreciate how much families are suffering from this disease that strikes young children and currently has no known cure. For those, like me, who were ignorant of the basic facts of the disease, I would like to tell you some of what I learned. Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy (DMD) is a genetic disorder carried on the x chromosome that afflicts about 1 in 3,500 boys (and some girls according to http://ghr.nlm.nih.gov/condition/duchenne-and-becker-muscular-dystrophy). If any readers are interested, I found http://www.cureduchenne.org and http://www.mdausa.org/disease/dmd.html and http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/000705.htm to be very informative sites. Please let me know of other sites people may visit to learn more about this disease.  My deepest sympathies go out to victims of this disease and their families.