Olympe - Yes, respect is very important. And seems to be increasingly left by the wayside. I think that's kind of what I was getting at, but I seem to have somehow left that specific part out. Thanks for saying it, and saying it so well.
Ann - That's an excellent example. A patently ridiculous view, espoused as if it were reasonable and obvious by someone who, by all accounts, should know better. But he doesn't know any better because he probably hasn't had a real conversation with an actual liberal in ages. And, most telling, here you are posting hesitantly about it, as if pointing it out and saying "Uhm... no. That's not how we actually think" was somehow inappropriate or inadvisable.
(Incidentally... have you considered actually paying for the Times? The columnist in question is a professional writer, and the Times is a business. I know it's strange nowadays, but it wasn't so long ago that paying for the paper because you want to read it was taken for granted. A bit much to buy the whole paper for one column, but if you use the site more, maybe it's something to think about?)
