"Perception vs. Reality"

I guess I'm in football mode this week as we approach the first weekend of the playoffs. As a Bears fan for over fifty years, I have a vision of what Packer fans are like (apologies to a dear friend). For years I've enjoyed hating the Packers, and their supporters. I have imagined them sitting in their living rooms eating large wheels of cheese and plates of bratwurst, followed by endless cans of warm beer. They would all be wearing those silly "cheese heads" with orange hunting jackets and insulated boots. All of Green Bay would be shut down from February to September, as there is nothing of any value done there in any of the other months. All family conversations center around the Packers. The shooting ranges have pictures of George Halas, Mike Ditka and Dick Butkus used as targets. Each church has an altar dedicated to Vince Lombardi, with candles being lit for Bart Starr every day. They all have pictures of Brett Favre draped in black ever since he defected to Minnesota. Before any of my Packer friends get too upset, I would like to say that my actual encounters with many Packer fans have been pleasant; and they seem to be normal people for the most part. Game days are just as crazy in Chicago as they are in Green Bay; each team has its' share of "nuts". Generalizing about others is doing them a disservice, and it doesn't speak very well of the person doing the generalizing.

House Minority Whip, Steny Hoyer (D-Md.), has made some statements about the TEA Party members. Rep. Hoyer said, "...My presumption is they have unhappy families...". This was part of another leftist diatribe against the conservative group. No matter what the left says about tolerance, I guess it never applies to anybody with a conservative philosophy. If a conservative were to make any similar statement about any leftist group, they would be labeled as intolerant or racist. Howard Dean (remember his campaign rantings) said the Tea Party is " the last gasp of old, white folks afraid of change", "...the generation that has trouble with diversity..".

I have serious doubts that Rep. Hoyer or Howard Dean really know anyone who personally believe in the principles of the TEA Party; they are so immersed in the progressive philosophy that any diversion from that philosophy seems traitorous to them. It seems to me the real unhappy families are those who can't accept the fact that other people can have opinions that don't match their own.

Unlike Bear and Packer fans, it seems that the left will never find common ground with the right. Ultimately, football fans all admit that they love the game even more than their teams, after all, we all watch the Super Bowl regardless of who's playing. I feel it is unfortunate that some of our political leaders seem to love their philosophy more than they love America; only America will suffer!
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