I’m a little late to the party, and this is actually my first comment, but I wanted to say something about this.

Someone mentioned people like Michael Moore, and Cindy Sheehan, and Jimmy Carter before in a negative way. Someone may not agree with their stances, or their liberal views, but you cannot put Michael Moore or Cindy Sheehan or the vast majority of the “left” in the same category as what we see from the right now. Michael Moore makes movies about how important health care reform is (which it is, and I recommend ANY conservative who disagrees to read business.theatlantic.com), and how evil and subversive our business culture has become (which it has). How is that in the same stratosphere as the outright lies and hate speech that Beck and Limbaugh spread? Cindy Sheehan protested a war that caused her to lose her child, how is that comparable to anything Pat Buchanan or Pat Robertson have said/done?

That’s where the disconnect is at this point. The left (to me, as an independent) seems to want to approach situations with a rational, logical discussion about issues. The right seems to want to exclude everyone but a select few, do everything they can to subvert the process, smear anyone who disagrees or even TRIES to deal with issues, and perpetuate their medieval way of thinking, all while stoking fear and isolation.

People like Charles are a beacon of hope in a very dark time. It takes an incredible amount of courage to realize something is wrong, and stand up for it, especially when the dogs on the other side of the fence are barking so loud.

Our country has turned on itself, and we are beginning to cannibalize ourselves from the inside. People seem to forget what that we are all human beings; we are all born, we all suffer, we all die, and we all deserve decency and respect.